


The Lost Get Found

by justanoutlaw



Series: The Lost Get Found [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Asthma, Daddy Charming, F/M, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, No Curse, Once Upon A Time AU, Overprotective, Overprotective Parents, PTSD, Protective Parents, charming family - Freeform, mama Snow, mentions of molestation, no magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-08-22 15:15:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 135,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8290594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/pseuds/justanoutlaw
Summary: Emma has grown up in the foster system and at 13, she's given up hope of ever finding a home. Mary and David Nolan have been trying for a family for the longest time. When Emma is placed with them, it seems like the perfect solution. While they all connect pretty easily, there are issues to work through. Watch as they find their way as a family.





	1. Family

**Author's Note:**

> Just some warnings, there will be some potentially triggering subjects and flashbacks, such as sexual and physical abuse. This story has OUAT characters and I try to keep their personalities the same, but there's no magic, no curse.

"I need you to keep an open mind,” David said. He and his wife Mary sat across from each other in Granny’s diner, enjoying a dinner of burgers and fries. The 28 year old blonde had met with the social worker that day, as the sheriff of a small town where nothing ever happened, his schedule was a tad more laxed than the school teacher’s.

“What kind of open mind?” She questioned, sipping her tea.

“Well…she’s not exactly a baby.”

“That’s okay. I knew with foster care we’d risk getting an older child. So how old is she? Five or six?” David shook his head. “Older? Younger?”

“Older. She’s thirteen.”

Mary bit her lip. “Oh.”

“I know we didn’t want to foster teenagers, but you didn’t hear her stories. She was put her into the system when she was 5 years old. She’s never had a real family. Here, look at her picture.” He laid the file on the table. Paper clipped to the outside was a picture of a beautiful blonde girl, with green eyes. She wasn’t smiling, but the background didn’t look very pretty either.

Mary frowned. The girl looked so little, despite being so old. She looked so lost, like she was in need of a family. So, this girl wasn’t a baby, but she had the potential to be her baby. “She looks so lost.”

“I know, that’s what I said. The social worker thought of us, because of our status in the town. She needs a firm yet gentle hand, and you know that’s both of us.”

“Okay, okay. So she’s not what we pictured, but our lives so far haven’t been.” She smiled. “Let’s do this.”

“Are you sure?”

“I want to be a mom, I want her to be my daughter.” Her smile faltered a bit. “How sure are they that she’s adoptable?”

“Her biological mother died of a drug overdose shortly after she became a ward of the state and her father had his rights stripped.”

“Why? They don’t just do that lightly.”

David bit his lip. “He molested her.”

Mary turned pale and her fists clenched. “He what?!?”

“He wasn’t the only one. Her parents were pretty heavy drug dealers and some of the men would molest her. There were even…pictures taken. It’s how they were caught.”

Mary shook her head, guilt filling her for being so against taking the little girl in to begin with. She needed a family, a real family. “That man should be killed,” she muttered.

“He’s locked up in prison.”

“Not good enough. So, how long do we have?”

“She’s currently at a group home in Boston, her social worker will drive her over tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? That doesn’t give me much time to get a room together.”

“Well, maybe we should wait until she comes. She can help you decorate it.”

Mary smiled a bit. “I’m glad she’s a girl. I always wanted a little girl to go shopping with.”

* * *

 

Emma walked into the group home, to find her social worker standing there with the woman who ran it.

 

“What’s going on? I didn’t do anything…” She wondered if they found out about her sneaking out the night before to go see that concert.

Helen, her social worker, gave her a small smile. “You’re not in trouble, Emma. Actually, quite the opposite. We’ve found a family for you.”

“A family?” The young girl laughed. “I’m thirteen.”

“There’s a family in Storybrooke, Maine…”

“Storybrooke? Sounds a bit unrealistic.”

“It’s a quaint small town, the couple is very excited for your arrival.”

By now Emma knew better than to trust her social worker. Her last five foster homes were supposedly very excited for her arrival, when in all reality, they were just excited for the check. “When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning. So go pack your things and get some rest.”

“Okay…”

 

She headed upstairs to the room that she shared with three other girls. She found the suitcase she had brought with her and packed her two other outfits and then picked up her baby blanket. It was the one good memory from her childhood and she brought it with her everywhere. She slid it in and shut it quickly, before the other girls would see. Just then, her roommates walked on in.

 

“What’s with the suitcase, _Ella_?” Denise, the oldest at all of fifteen, taunted.

“It’s Emma and I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Finally running away?”

“No, they found me a family.” The words sounded weird in her mouth. She didn’t believe these people really wanted her anyway, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Denise.

The brunette laughed. “Yeah, right. You’re too old to be adopted. Not to mention too ugly.” She shoved the little blonde.

“Leave me alone!”

“Make me.”

Emma shoved her back, causing her to fall against her bunkbed. She turned back around to climb under the covers when she felt her hair being grabbed. She was forced to the floor and received a swift kick to the face.

* * *

 

The following morning, Mary rearranged the pillows on the couch. She was nervous, very, very nervous.

 

“What if she doesn’t like me?” She asked David. Both had taken the day off work to help get Emma situated and it was the start of a long weekend, which meant at least Mary would be home every day.

“She’d be crazy not to like you. Just remember she’s been through a lot. She may not be all ready to call us Mom and Dad.”

“I’m fine with that.”  She looked out the window and watched a station wagon pull up. “That should be Helen.”

David slipped a hand through his wife and walked out onto their porch. Helen stepped out and a moment later, the door to the passenger side opened.

 

Out stepped a very petite teenager, with blonde curls that fell past her shoulders. She was wearing beat up jeans and a brown and white striped t-shirt. She also had a black eye. Mary gasped and before she could hide her shock, the teen saw her face and frowned. Helen lead her up the steps.

 

“Emma Swan, this is David and Mary Margaret Nolan. David, Mary, this is Emma.”

David smiled. “Hi there, Emma, welcome.”

“Hi,” she muttered. She looked over at the brunette.

“Hi Emma!” Mary said, trying to stay enthusiastic. She was happy to see the girl, she was just concerned about her face. “Why don’t you come inside?” The blonde said nothing, but followed her new foster parents into the house.

 

She looked around, it was by far the nicest home she had ever been in. It wasn’t a palace or anything but it was beautifully decorated. Pictures of Mary and David were strung on the walls, including a gorgeous wedding photo. Emma walked over and stared at it. Mary was in a floor length white gown and was wearing a tiara, a freaking tiara. Emma thought she looked just like a princess. Beside her, David was beaming, looking quite dashing in his tux. He wasn’t wearing a crown, but all the young girl could think is that they looked like they were ripped straight from some fairytale.

 

But she knew by now that life didn’t have fairytales. There had to be something with these people. She already thought that Mary thought she was weird, no doubt to her black eye.

 

“Emma, are you hungry?” She turned around to see Mary standing there, a kind smile on her face.

“Uh, not really, no. The trip was long though and I’m tired. Could you please just show me to my room?”

“Of course,” David lead her up the stairs. “That’s mine and Mary’s room, and this…” He opened the door directly across the hall. “Is your room.”

 

It was a standard guest bedroom, white walls with a four poster bed in the middle with a brown bedspread. In the corner was a dresser, a desk and a T.V.

 

“Mary’s going to take you shopping to make this place feel a little more like home.”

 

Home. She had just arrived, this wasn’t her home and even if it became it, she doubted it would last. Suddenly, she felt his hand on her shoulder and she bit her lip. Here we go, she thought. She hadn’t been molested her biological father and his friends, but she had foster fathers who were a bit too handsy. She immediately pulled away and then saw the worry in David’s eye. He must have known about her past.

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

She blushed, realizing he wasn’t like the others. “It’s…it’s okay.”

“I’ll be downstairs with Helen and Mary, you come down when you’re ready. Welcome home, Emma.”

 

There was that word again, home.

“What happened to her face?”

 

* * *

 

Mary, David and Helen sat around the kitchen table, sipping some tea.

 

“She was in a group home, as you know. Whenever kids leave, whether it’s to go back to their parents or if they get placed, some of the older kids get jealous. Emma told me that her foster sister kicked her in the face,” Helen explained.

Mary sighed. “Oh that poor thing.”

The social worker finished up her cup. “Emma is a good girl, she hardly gives her foster parents any trouble. I think she’s just had bad luck thus far. People see her file and assume she’s going to go around accusing them of doing the same thing.”

“You’re sure that no one can come and claim custody, right?” David asked.

“Like I said, she has no one. Her parents were both only children and their parents were long gone by the time Emma was placed.”

“Okay, good.”

“Has she received therapy, you know for all she’s been through?” Mary asked.

“She saw a psychologist when she was younger but no, not anymore.”

 

The school teacher thought of her friend Archie. She often recommended students going through a hard time to him. Perhaps she would phone and set up an appointment.

 

“Anyway, you will be receiving $495 a month…”

“We’re not doing this for the money,” David cut her off. “And we’d like to be able to adopt as soon as possible.”

Helen smiled. “I understand, however, you need to take into account what Emma will want. She’s never had a family like you.”

 

Soon, the social worker was gone and Mary headed upstairs to Emma’s room. She found the girl sitting on her bed, staring into space.

 

“Emma?” The blonde looked up. “Do you need help unpacking?”

“Oh, I already did.”

“Already?” Mary cocked an eyebrow. “How long were we talking with Helen?” She walked over and pulled open one of the drawers. “Is this all you have?”

Emma nodded. “All they let me keep from my last foster home.” She saw the shock on Mary’s face. “It’s fine, I don’t mind doing laundry. Speaking of which, what chores do I have here?”

“Chores?”

“You know, at the group home I had to clean the kitchen, do dishes, laundry, vacuum…the woman who ran it didn’t like to lift a finger.”

Mary gave her a small smile. “Well, I think all we’ll ask is that you pick up after yourself.”

“Okay. Any rules I should know?”

“I guess we never thought about that…”

“Am I your first placement?”

The woman laughed. “That obvious, huh?”

“Normally they have the rules and chores ready to go.”

“I’ll have to talk to David, but honestly, I don’t think we’ll have too many.”

“Sounds good.”

“So, why don’t we go shopping?”

“Shopping?” The blonde gave her a weird look.

“Yeah. We can buy stuff to spruce up the room, I haven’t touched it since David and I moved in a few years ago. Plus, you could use a few new outfits.”

Emma blushed. “I uh…”

“Not that your clothes aren’t good, they’re fine.” That was a lie, they were torn and beat up. “But, I figured you’d want more than three.”

“You haven’t even gotten paid yet.”

Mary walked over and placed a hand on Emma’s cheek. Both girls were surprised when she didn’t pull away. “We’re not doing this for the money, sweetie. We want a family.”

Emma wanted to believe her…but she had just met her. All she could do was force a smile. “I guess shopping would be okay.”

“Great. I’ll go tell David we’re going!”


	2. Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to put in the last chapter, even though there’s no curse or anything, in your mind, still picture the same actors for the adults. As for Emma, picture Abby Ross, who plays young Emma in flashbacks, rather than Jennifer Morrison. I’m still deciding which characters are going to be adults and which will be teens. For example, I was torn with Ruby because she’s really Snow’s friend from the Enchanted Forest, but I wanted Emma to be able to have a female friend her age.

Emma sat in the passenger seat of Mary’s Subaru as they drove into town. She gazed out the window, in amazement at the small town.

 

“So, did you live in Boston your whole life?” Mary asked, glancing over at the young girl.

“Oh, no. I was born in Portland.”

“Portland, Oregon?” Emma nodded. “Oh wow. When did you move to Boston?”

“When I was four. My biological father was on the run.”

Mary felt her skin crawl at the mention of that terrible man. “I am so sorry for all you had to go through.”

Emma was shocked. No one had ever said that before. Some had even accused her of lying, despite the evidence. “Uh, thanks.” It was quiet for a minute. “What do you do? For a living?”

“I teach 5th grade at the local school. It actually runs as both an elementary school and a junior high, so you’ll be going there. I promise I won’t spy on you or anything.” She saw a small smile go across the girl’s face. “David’s the local sheriff.”

Emma turned pale. “Sheriff?”

“Yes. But it’s such a small town, there’s hardly any crime.” She pulled to a stoplight and noticed Emma’s face. “Oh darling, don’t worry, he’s not mean or anything like that. He’s like a big old teddy bear.” All the girl did was nod. “Do you have a favorite color?”

“Red.”

“Mine’s pink.”

“Pink’s okay, I guess.”

“You can decorate your room however you want though, you know I have a friend, Granny…”

“You have a friend named Granny?”

Mary chuckled. “No, that’s just what everyone calls her, she’s like everyone’s grandmother. Anyway, she’s raising her granddaughter Ruby, she’s about your age and that’s her favorite color too.”

“You really don’t have to buy me anything, Mary, really…”

“I want to.”

 

Soon, Mary found some parking on Main Street. Emma slowly got out of the car and looked around. The whole place looked so…quaint. Like what she pictured the Anne of Green Gables town would look like.

 

“Why don’t we start with clothes shopping first? You can pick out anything you want.” Mary took Emma’s arm, not sure if she was overstepping or not, but the girl allowed it. She followed her into the shop and they were immediately greeted by a tall blonde.

“Mary!” She said with a smile. “How are you doing?”

“Great Ashley, I want you to meet Emma, she’s the girl I was telling you about. Emma, this is Ashley, she runs the store.”

“Nice to meet you,” Emma replied quietly.

Ashley looked the girl up and down. “Well sweetheart, why don’t we try to find you some nice outfits?”

“I really don’t need anything…”

“Nonsense.”

Mary could sense her foster daughter’s fear. “Uh, Ash, I think we’ll just look around, I don’t know if personal shopping is Emma’s thing.”

The shop owner nodded. “Understandable.”

 

Mary guided Emma over to the racks of teen clothes and she started to sort through them. She wasn’t used to shopping. Normally, she just got older foster sibling’s hand me downs.  The only thing she spotted was a red faux leather jacket. She picked it up and looked at the size. It was too big for her, but that just meant there’d be room to grow. Her foster mother saw her eyeing.

 

“That’s so cute and it’s perfect for spring and fall. It looks like it’ll be a little big.”

“I don’t mind. I actually like my jackets and sweaters big…comfier, you know.”

Mary grinned. “For sure.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?” Emma tried to look at the price tag, but the woman with her snatched it before she could.

“Don’t worry about it. Pick out what you like and then you can go try it on.”

 

Emma timidly picked out a few more outfits, not wanting to ask for a lot. If Mary saw her eying something that she didn’t pick, she’d just select it for her. She had Emma try on every outfit to make sure it fit, while waiting outside the dressing room. The teenager had never seen so many clothes in her life. It made her feel a little uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to offend these people. They were being so generous.

 

“They must want me around for awhile,” she muttered, as she pulled back on her street clothes. “Why else would she be getting me all this?”

“What was that, Emma?”

“Nothing.” She opened the door and walked out. Ashley was already ringing up the clothes. Emma’s eyebrows nearly shot off her head when she read off the price, but Mary didn’t even flinch. She simply handed over her credit card. “Mary, you shouldn’t have spent so much money.”

“Oh sweets, that’s nothing. Plus, it’s all stuff you need.” She gave her a warm smile. “Now, if you want, we don’t have to go shopping for your room today. We could just go get something to eat and shop for the rest tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to put you out…”

“It’s no trouble. Since I’m a teacher, I obviously don’t have to work weekends.”

“Don’t you have homework to grade?”

“I try not to assign homework.”

“I hope my teachers are like you.” For the first time, Mary saw a smile go across her face.

She chuckled. “We’ll see.”

 

The girls loaded the bags into the back of Mary’s car and then headed down the street to Granny’s. Emma could notice lots of people staring at her, but they looked friendly and waved at Mary, who said things like “Hey Leroy.” and “How’s the baby, Aurora?”

 

“You know everyone,” she commented as they walked into the diner.

“Perks of living in a small town and being a teacher.” A tall teenager with dark hair and a red highlight approached them. “Well hello Ruby, you helping Granny out today?”

Ruby nodded and spotted Emma. “Who’s this?”

“This is Emma, she’s David and I’s foster daughter.”

“Oh, great to meet you. Are you going to start school on Monday?”

Emma shrugged. “I guess.”

“Well if you need anyone to show you around, I’d be happy to.”

“Thanks,” she said. Ruby lead them to a table and they sat down.

In that moment, Mary realized she didn’t know what Emma liked to eat. “What’s your favorite food, Emma?”

“Um…” She bit her lip. “Onion rings.”

Mary grinned. “I like them too. Do you like grilled cheese?”

“Yes.”

“Alright Ruby, I guess we’ll have two grilled cheeses with orders of onion rings. I’ll have some lemon water, Emma?”

“Do you have Dr. Pepper?” She asked Ruby, nervously.

“We sure do. I’ll go put the order in right now.” She headed off to the kitchen.

“She seemed nice,” Emma remarked.

“She is.”

 

The door opened, causing a little bell to jingle and David walked in. Emma bit her lip, adjusting herself, attempting to be on her best behavior. Only with her luck would she end up with a cop. She wondered if he’d be able to tell that she had stolen the plastic bracelet around her wrist. Sure, it had been back in Boston, but he was the sheriff.

 

He put in his order with Ruby and slid in next to his wife.

 

“So how much damage did you girls do?” He teased.

“Oh not too bad,” Mary Margaret replied as Ruby put the drinks out. “But she’ll be all set to start school on Monday.”

“Do I have to go to school?”

“Uh, yeah,” David replied. “Why? Do you not like it?”

“I’m not that smart,” she replied, sheepishly.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” he said, reassuringly. “And if you need help, we’ll get you a tutor.”

“You will?”

“Of course, we want you to succeed.”

 

Emma gnawed on her lip. They were being so nice to her. Buying her all that stuff, now offering to get her a tutor…they had to want something. There’s no way they were doing it for free.

 

Soon the food arrived and they all dug in. It was probably the best grilled cheese Emma had ever had. At the group home, they had to make all their own food and food made by teens wasn’t exactly the best. It was warm and delicious and she savored every bit of it. It also didn’t help that she didn’t eat breakfast.

 

David smiled at her. “Well, since you ate all your lunch, maybe we should get desert.”

Emma blushed. “Not five,” she muttered, causing the people in front of her to chuckle.

“You’re never too old for Granny’s famous apple pie.”

 

After some slices of pie with ice cream, David got called into the station and Emma agreed to do some more shopping with Mary. It was weird, but Emma was a little sad when David left.

 

Stop getting attached, she told herself. There has to be an ulterior motive.

 

They went and picked up some school supplies for Emma, just a backpack, some notebooks, binders and pens. Next they headed over to a furniture store. A nice man named August ran the shop with his father and showed them over to the bedding section.

 

“Mr. Gold gave us some nice selections this month,” he explained.

“Who’s Mr. Gold?”

“He runs the pawn shop and owns the inn,” Mary told her. “He has a son, Baelfire. He’s about a year older than you.”

Emma couldn’t help but snicker, then realized that was rude. “Sorry, I just uh, Baelfire’s an unusual name.”

“Yes, unfortunately that’s the reaction most kids have,” August mused. Emma suddenly felt bad. She knew how it felt to be picked on. She vowed right then and there that if she ever met this Baelfire, she wouldn’t laugh at him. “Anyway, what color were you thinking?”

“You like red, right, Emma?” Mary asked.

She nodded. “Yes.” She spotted a bedding set that wasn’t red, though. It was a pink paisley print with white sheets. She picked it up and eyed it for a moment. She had never wanted anything pink, ever. But this was calling out to her.

Mary grinned. “That’s very pretty.”

“Can I…I mean is it…”

“Of course you can get it, hon,” she handed it to August and got matching pillow cases.

 

Soon they were back at the house, Emma helped her foster mother bring up all the bags and they began to unload. Mary was going to put the suitcase on a shelf, when the baby blanket fell out. She lifted it up and traced the name “Emma”. The lace along the blanket was purple and it was very big. Emma saw her looking at it and quickly took it away.

 

“Oh honey, I’m sorry, it’s just a beautiful blanket.”

She turned red again. “Oh. Thanks. I know I’m thirteen, it’s just…uh…the only good thing I have left of my childhood. The only thing they ever let me keep…”

Mary smiled and put a hand on the child’s face. “It’s okay dear, I understand.” Emma partially smiled and hugged it close. “Do you want to help me make your bed?”

 

The two made the bed, with Emma’s baby blanket going on top. Mary unloaded the rest of the clothes into the closet and dresser.

 

“Now do you need any um, feminine supplies?” She asked, causing the girl to just blush again. “Oh sweetie, I’m sorry I asked…”

“No, it’s okay. I uh, actually haven’t gotten my period yet. I’m a late bloomer.”

“That’s completely fine. Just let me know when it happens, okay sweetie?” The girl nodded. “Well, we have some time before dinner. What do you want to do?”

 

This woman wanted to keep spending time with her? It was all becoming a little too much.

 

“Uh, do you think I could just take a rest? I had to wake up early so we could beat traffic.”

Mary nodded and looked at her for a moment before laying a kiss to her head. Emma stared at her in shock. She couldn’t remember her own mother doing that, let alone a foster mother. “Holler if you need anything.” And with that, she went downstairs.

 

Emma threw herself back on the bed, hugging her blanket tight. Everything was just going so fast. They were so kind and generous and they didn’t have any rules really…if this was her new life, she wasn’t sure if she could complain.

* * *

 

David walked through the door, greeted by the smells of roast chicken and veggies. He went into the kitchen and found Mary cooking. He placed a kiss to her lips.

 

“Hey. How was the rest of your day?”

“It was great, I think we got everything we need. I think I overwhelmed her though.”

“We should try to take it easy.”

“I’m just so excited. She’s such a sweet girl, very polite, it was like she felt that she couldn’t ask for anything.” Mary sighed. “The poor thing, I was thinking…maybe we should set up an appointment for her with Archie.”

“Let’s wait on that, again, we don’t  want to push her too far, too soon.”

“Okay, but if I see one sign of…”

“We’ll call.” David grinned and held up a bag. “I stopped at the bookstore on the way home. I had Belle give me some book recommendation for teen girls.”

Mary smiled. “That’s a great idea. I was thinking, we should get her a cell phone and a laptop, so she can stay in touch and get schoolwork done.”

“Definitely. Where is she now anyway?”

“She asked to rest after we got back, it’s been a long day. Can you go get her? Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Sure.”

 

He headed upstairs and into the room. She was curled up under the comforter, holding on tight to her baby blanket. He couldn’t help but smile. She looked like a little angel. He reached down to slowly shake her awake.

  
“Emma,” he whispered. “Emma, dinner’s ready, sweetie.”

 

Emma’s eyes flickered open but things were a little blurry and the room was dark. All she could see was a shadow of a man. She blinked again and saw his hand on her. She let out a scream.

 

“Don’t touch me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review!


	3. Scared

Emma’s eyes adjusted and she saw a very shocked David standing in front of her. She suddenly felt guilt fill her.

 

“I…I’m sorry,” she jumped up out of bed.

“Sweetie, it’s okay, I was just trying to wake you up.”

“I…I thought…” Tears welled up in her eyes. She felt so stupid, who else would it have been?

David gave her a soft smile. “Can I give you a hug?” She slowly nodded and he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly, cupping the back of her head as he did. It felt so nice, she hadn’t ever had a hug like this. She hugged him back. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but I would never hurt you like that.

She nodded again, the tears falling down her face. Why was he being so nice? She had just screamed at him.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

 

She slowly walked downstairs with him, heading into the kitchen. Mary had set the table up to look very pretty, with a vase of fresh flowers sitting on the table. The brunette saw her foster daughter’s tear stained face and went to say something, when her husband gave her a Look telling her not to push it. So she just put  on a smile.

 

“Are you hungry?”

“Kinda.” She sat down in front of one of the place settings, Mary and David sitting on either side of her. At the group home they all ate dinner together but this already felt different. She slowly began eating. “This is very good.”

“Thank you, sweets,” she said. “So, how was your nap?”

 

She gnawed on her lip. She had ended up having that dream again, the one about her biological father. She had lied to her psychologist when she was eight that the dream had stopped occurring. It hadn’t ever really helped, she worked for the state and basically told her to suck it up.

 

“It was fine.” She took a sip of the milk in front of her, she couldn’t remember the last time she had milk.

“Would you maybe want to watch a movie after we eat?” Mary asked.

“A movie?”

“Mary is obsessed with movies,” David told her with a smile. “We must have a thousand DVDs.”

“I am not that bad,” she protested with a pout, causing the blonde to grin wider and lean across their foster daughter to peck her lips.

 

They seem so in love, Emma thought to herself. If her foster parents were married, they didn’t seem too happy. Her own biological parents had a shitty relationship. Her dad would beat her mom in front of her and her mom was constantly cheating. The little girl only knew that when she walked in on her mom and one of her “clients”.

 

“I guess a movie would be okay.”

“Do you have a favorite movie?” Mary asked.

“Not really.” She saw their shocked expressions. “I uh, guess I like the Sorcerer and the Stone.”

“I think we have that one,” David told her.

 

Once she was done, she gathered up her plates and out of habit, grabbed the other dishes as well. She headed to the sink and started to clean them off, when she heard a voice behind her.

 

“Don’t worry about that hon, we have a dishwasher.” She turned around to find Mary standing there. The woman touched her face. “How about that movie, huh?” Emma nodded and followed her out into the living room. She settled down onto the couch and her foster mother found the movie, slipping it in. She settled next to Emma and smiled at her.

 

After they went through all the commercials, David walked in, holding three mugs of hot chocolate. Emma noticed cinnamon sticks coming out of each of them.

 

“Is that cinnamon?”

“It’s a family tradition of mine,” he explained, handing it to her. “You’ll have to tell me if you like it.”

The blonde girl took a sip and smiled. It was so delicious, probably the best cup of hot chocolate ever. “It’s great.”

“I’m glad,” he sat down beside Mary and the movie began.

 

The three of them watched it in silence, drinking their hot chocolate. Eventually, Emma felt her eyes starting to close. Even with her nap, it had been a really long day. She felt so overwhelmed by the events of the day. They were so nice to her and had been so generous. How could these people be so kind when they barely knew her?

 

Not long after, she heard David calling her name. Her eyes flickered open.

 

“I was just resting my eyes,” she muttered, half-defensively.

He chuckled. “Alright sweetie, why don’t you go get your pajamas on and head to bed.”

“Okay.” She stood up, not really sure what to do to say goodnight. She decided to take the initiative and hug Mary. “Thanks for everything.”

“You’re very welcome sweets,” she kissed her cheek and Emma turned to David, giving him a small hug as well. She couldn’t help but notice that he was cradling her head again. She didn’t mind it.

 

She headed upstairs and changed into a pair of pink flannel pajamas that Mary had picked out for her. She climbed under the covers and looked around the room. She had spent many a night in a new place and it was always very scary. She just hugged her baby blanket tight and clamped her eyes shut, hoping she could soon fall asleep.

* * *

 

Mary shut the dishwasher and leaned against it, thinking about the events of the day. David walked over and wrapped his arms around her.

 

“What’s on your mind?” He whispered.

“Emma. I just want her to be happy.”

“I know, it was her first day, probably overwhelming.”

“Why was she screaming earlier?”

He sighed. “I went to wake her up and she screamed. I think she thought I was someone else.”

“Who else…oh.” She bit her lip. “I just want to hug her so tight and never let go. Did you see that look in her eyes?”

David knew what his wife was referring to. She often looked so lost, so out of place. “It’ll probably take her time. I can tell she wants to trust us, she willingly hugged me and you.”

“I noticed you cradling her head, that was so sweet.”

“I just couldn’t help it, she’s like an angel.”

Mary gave him a soft smile. “Our angel.”

“I know she’s not what we pictured…”

“She’s more.” She then started to laugh. “I meant to tell you, she wants to know what rules she’s going to have.”

“Rules?”

“Yeah and chores.”

“I’ve never known a kid willingly ask about that kind of stuff.”

“I think she just wants to stay out of trouble. She seemed a little freaked out when I told her you were the sheriff.” Her husband frowned. “I explained there was nothing to be afraid of, though.”

He remembered to his days growing up on a farm, the kids weren’t exactly nice about that. “I hope the kids don’t give her a hard time for it.”

“If anything they might since I’m a teacher.”

“At least not for her grade.”

“I admit…I’m a little happy I’ll be at her school for now. If she needs me, I’ll be there.”

“It’ll be good for her to have a friendly face, for sure.”

 

The two finished cleaning up and then headed upstairs. Emma’s door was opened half-way, so they gently nudged it open. She was curled up in her bed, clinging to her baby blanket. She looked so little, so innocent.

 

“She’s ours,” Mary whispered.

“I know.” David took her hands. “We have to wait before we ask her, but I don’t want to.”

His wife softly giggled. “Now who’s rushing things.”

“It just…it feels right, you know? Like she was put on this Earth to be our daughter.”

* * *

 

The next few days were spent showing Emma around Storybrooke some more. They introduced her to a few of their friends and made a couple more trips to Granny’s. She seemed to be getting slowly more comfortable around them. She found that she loved it when Mary called her “Sweets” and when David cradled her head when he hugged her. Still… a part of her was sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

Sunday night, David was at work, so Mary and Emma were on their own for dinner. They grabbed a bite to eat at Granny’s and then went home to pick out an outfit for Emma to wear on her first day of school. Not her idea, but she had to admit it was a little fun.

 

“What do the kids wear?” She asked as they sorted through the options. It was early fall, so she wouldn’t be too far behind, but she knew that most of these kids had been going to school together since kindergarten.

“There’s not really a set style. You definitely want to wear your jacket, right?”

Emma nodded. “Definitely.”

“How about this?” She held up a white dress, nothing too fancy and it had short sleeves. She saw the blonde make a face. “No?”

“I rarely wear dresses anyway.”

“Well, how about jeans and this top?” She held up a blue top with subtle bedazzling. Emma nodded. “Alright, great.” Mary laid the clothes out and walked to the window. “It’s coming down hard out there.”

Emma hadn’t noticed the rain, so she joined her by the window. “I guess it is. I’m gonna take a shower and then we can watch that movie?”

“Sounds good to me.”

 

Emma went into the bathroom and started her shower. About halfway through, she heard thunder. Of course it was after she had just put shampoo in her hair. She was just getting the last of it out when the lights flickered out. She let out a scream and nearly fell, but caught herself on the soap dish. She turned off the water and carefully stepped out of the tub, she felt around for her towel and started to dry herself off. There was a knock at the door.

  
“Sweets, you okay?”

“Y…yeah.”

“It’s alright, it’s just because of a storm. Just get change and we’ll go into my room. I have flashlights.”

 

She quickly dressed and then grabbed her brush, she could fix her hair later. She walked out of the bathroom and Mary put an arm around her, handing her a flashlight. The two slowly walked across the hall and into the master. Emma had yet to be in their room and from the dim lighting from the flashlights, she thought it was very nice, cozy. She sat on the bed beside Mary, who gave her a smile.

 

“Well, we could watch a movie on my laptop if you’d like.”

“Sure.”

Mary spotted the brush in her hand. “I could brush your hair if you’d like, maybe braid it for you?”

Emma smiled a little. “I,,.I’d like that. No one’s ever done my hair before.”

“Well this is a great place to start.” She had Emma sit in front of her and began to brush the damp ringlets. “You have such beautiful hair.”

The blonde blushed. “Thank you. I like yours too,” she replied, commenting on Mary’s bob.

“It’s an easy look, but I always wanted curls,” she laughed. “I used to want to be a blonde too, actually.”

“We really don’t have more fun.”

“Oh, really?”

“Really.” Emma looked down at her fingers. “You’re really pretty, though.”

“Thank you sweets, so are you.”

“Do you think…I mean…my black eye…”

“Oh honey, it’s gotten a lot better, I don’t think anyone will notice.”

“But what if they do? Could you cover it with makeup?”

Mary couldn’t help but smile. She wanted her to help her with makeup. She knew the motives weren’t good ones, but still. “No honey, I don’t want to infect it in any way. Plus, I’m not sure how David would feel about you wearing makeup.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think he already sees you as his little girl.”

“Really?” Emma moved her head, causing Mary to nearly get her in the eye with the brush due to the quick movement.

“Really.” She pushed hair out of the young girl’s eyes. “Sweetie, we have been waiting for a child for a really long time.”

“I didn’t know that.”

Mary stroked her cheek. “We tried for a few years to have a baby, but it just didn’t work out. That’s when we decided to foster.”

Emma felt her stomach sink. So she was just a second choice?

“But to be honest, when I saw your picture, I felt like it was meant to be…like you were supposed to be my daughter.”

Daughter. The word lingered in Emma’s head. Her foster mother was saying things she never thought she’d ever hear. They really wanted her.

“It’s okay if you don’t think of us as your parents, it’s all so new. Just know that we really do want you here, Emma. We want to be your family.”

“But…why?”

“Why?” Mary looked bewildered in the soft glow of the flashlight.

“I’m thirteen…I’m too old! No one wants kids older than three or four, if that. I just…”

“You just what, honey?”

She sighed. “When I was at a home, not my group home, but a place before that, there was this little girl that got adopted. She was probably four. I saw the way her new parents looked at her, the love they had. I just knew that I would never have that…I’m too old.”

“Oh Emma, Emma, Emma…” Mary cupped her face. “My sweet girl, you are not too old, you are still just a little girl. We want you, because from the moment we saw your profile, we knew you were the child we wanted.”

“But I’m not little.” Tears sprung to her eyes. “I’m in eighth grade, you can’t teach me how to walk or talk.”

“That doesn’t make a child. Yes, you may be a teenager, but you can still be our little girl, our baby. There are still so many things for us to teach you.”

Tears fell down Emma’s cheeks and Mary wiped them with her thumb, while still cupping her face. “You…you really want me?”

“Oh yes we do sweets, with everything inside of us. I know you’ve only been here a few days, but we went into this with intent to adopt.”

“Adopt? You…you want to adopt me?” Her mind was swimming, all of it was just too overwhelming.

“We don’t have to do it now, in fact Helen says you have to be in our care for at least six months before we can file. We want you to get to know us and we want to get to know you, but we want you here with us. We want to be a family.”

Emma didn’t know what to say or what to do. She wanted a family, so, so badly. She had just met these people and yet, they had acted more like any parent she had ever had, foster or otherwise. She wasn’t sure if she could trust them fully, but at the same time, a part of her needed this promise, this commitment, that she was safe. Even if it was just for now.

 

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Okay?” Mary repeated.

“I want to give this a shot…as a family…I can’t promise I’ll call you Mom and Dad…”

“That’s completely fine, sweetheart.”

“But you won’t send me back?”

“Never. I love you.”

“You love me?” Those three words…never before had she heard them.

“Yes, I do.”

“No one’s ever said that to me before.”

Mary felt her heart break. This poor girl, how could she be having all these firsts, at thirteen? “I’m sorry no one has, you are so worthy of love.”

Emma nodded, not sure if she believed it, but wrapped her arms around Mary. The woman held her close, planting a kiss to her head. “I…I love you too,” she whispered. And a part of her realized, she meant it. She wasn’t sure if she had ever loved anyone before, but she hadn’t felt this way before.

Tears sprung to Mary’s eyes and she held her tighter. “Oh my sweets.”

 

Eventually the two broke apart and Mary finished brushing her hair, soon braiding it. Then she pulled out her laptop and opened up her downloads folder, pulling up The Princess Diaries. Emma had never seen it before, but the storyline drew her in. It was about a girl, Mia Thermopolis who grew up ordinary. Then one day, she found out that she was a princess. She wasn’t sure if she wanted the responsibility, but grew to love the grandmother she never had. When it came to the part where Mia had her heartbroken by a jerk, her mother held her and whispered reassuring things in her ear.

 

Emma wondered if Mary would ever be that for her…and she was surprised when she realized that she really hoped she could be.

* * *

 

David walked into his bedroom a little before ten. He was exhausted and just wanted to collapse into bed. That’s when he saw the state of his bed. Mary was laying on her side, watching Emma sleep. He felt a grin go across his face.

  
“What happened here?”

Mary broke her trance and looked up, matching his smile. “The power was out, so we watched a movie on her laptop.”

He sat on the bed and stroked Emma’s cheek. She stirred, but didn’t wake up.

“I talked with her…I didn’t mean for it to become “that talk” and you should probably talk to her too, eventually…but I told her we wanted to adopt her, eventually.”

David sighed, he had wanted to be there for that conversation. “Mary…”

“It just sort of came out. We were talking about her and makeup…”

“She’s not old enough for makeup!” He exclaimed. Emma whined a little in her sleep, so he lowered his voice. “She’s just a little girl.”

Mary giggled. “I know, that’s what I told her, that you look at her like our little girl. I think she needed to hear it. Do you know that before tonight, no one had ever so much as told her that they loved her?”

David’s face fell. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know, but do you see why I had to say it?”

“Yes, of course, of course.”

“I know it’s moving quickly, but would you change it?”

“Not for anything in the world.” He laid a kiss to her lips. “Should we keep her in here?”

“I think so, yes. It’s just for tonight.”

“Let me go get changed.”

 

He changed into some sweats before settling in on the other side of Emma. Soon, the new family was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know it may seem like things are moving fast, but I have some plans for this family as they try to find their way. Please make sure to review.


	4. First Day of School

David had always pictured what his child’s first day of school would be like. They would have a princess or Mickey Mouse backpack (depending on the gender), wear a cute outfit that Mary would obsess over and they’d come bounding down the stairs, so excited to start kindergarten. They’d have a huge breakfast and then head off to school. The kid would cling to his leg, not wanting to go, but would then make so many friends.

 

But his kid wasn’t going into kindergarten, she was in 8th grade. Yet he still felt that same apprehension. She had been with them for four days and he was nervous about them being apart from her. Sure, Mary would be in the same school, but she wouldn’t have them directly with her.

 

“She’ll be fine, David.” He looked down and saw his wife beside him. She was making pancakes in celebration of Emma’s first day.

“How can you tell when I’m stressed.”

“Because I know you.” She pecked his lips. “She’ll be fine. She has Ruby and I won’t be too far away.” She noticed her husband still looked freaked out, so she gave him a kiss. “She’ll be fine.”

 

Emma came into the kitchen, her bag over her shoulder. Mary smiled at her.

 

“Morning Sweets,” she said. “Pancakes are almost ready.”

“They smell great.” She slid down into a seat at the table and David walked over, handing her a wrapped box. “What’s this?”

“Open it and see.”

Emma took off the wrapping paper and gasped at the iPhone box. “You guys didn’t have to…”

“We want you to be able to reach us, we put our numbers in there and you can text or call us at anytime.”

She got up and gave him a hug. “Thanks, David.”

“No problem, Princess.”

Emma blushed a little. “Princess?”

“Yeah, you are like a princess.”

Her blush deepened. “Not really.”

“I think you are.”

 

She sat back down and the family was soon eating together. After breakfast was done, Emma helped Mary with the dishes. David kissed his wife and then hugged his little girl.

 

“Have a good first day, Princess.”

“Thanks, David.”

“I work the day shift so I’ll be home a little after you get back.”

“Okay.” She put her backpack back on and followed Mary out the door, getting in the car with her. She was nervous, she had hopped around from school to school when she was younger. But each new school was equally as nerve wracking.

 

Pretty soon they had pulled up in front of the school, but Emma didn’t budge. Mary squeezed her hand.

  
“It’s going to be okay.”

“What if I don’t make friends?”

“You already have Ruby, you’ll meet other people too. Don’t worry. And if you need anything, I’ll be on the elementary school side.”

“O…okay.”

Mary laid a kiss to her cheek. “I love you, sweets.”

“I love you too.”

 

Emma got out of the car and Mary lead her to the junior high building. They went into the office to get her schedule and then headed out into the hallway. Ruby spotted them and walked over.

 

“Hey Emma.”

“Hey Ruby.”

“Let me see your schedule.” Emma handed it over and the dark haired girl reviewed it. “We have most of the same classes. Come on, I’ll walk you to homeroom.”

“Okay.” She looked over at Mary who smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Have a great day, come to my classroom after your last class.”

“I will. You have a good day, too.”

 

Mary watched as the two girls walked off. She hoped she’d have a great day. A part of her wanted to be with her all day, but also knew she needed her space.

 

Emma and Ruby made it to homeroom and slid down into their seats. A few minutes later, another girl with dark hair walked in, taking her place next to Ruby.

 

“Hey, Rube.”

“Hey Lily, this is Emma, Emma this is Lily.”

“Nice to meet you,” Emma said quietly.

“You too. Where did you come from?” Lily questioned.

“Uh, Boston. David and Mary Nolan are my foster parents.”

“Oh that’s so cool, they finally got a kid.”

 

The teacher walked in and started to call roll, when he came across the end of the alphabet.

 

“Ah, Miss Emma Swan,” he smiled. “You’re new, would you like to stand up and say a few words about yourself?”

 

She really didn’t. But of course now all eyes were on her. She slowly stood up and rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans.

 

“Hi…I’m Emma…I just moved here from uh, Boston.” She wasn’t sure if she should add that she was a foster kid. It wasn’t something she liked to volunteer, the other students tended to tease her. Plus, she was sure most of them knew by now. So she simply sat back down and let her teacher resume roll.

 

The day went by pretty uneventfully before lunch. She either had classes with Lily or Ruby, so it wasn’t too bad. They both seemed very nice, though Lily had a dark sense of humor. Ruby was constantly apologizing for her. The two explained that they had been best friends since pre-school. Emma wondered if she was intruding on them, but it didn’t seem it.

 

Come lunch, Emma grabbed the brown paper bag Mary had packed her and headed for the cafeteria. For it being such a small school, it felt like there were a ton of kids. She took a deep breath and heard her name being called. She turned around to find Ruby and Lily sitting at a table together. She headed over and sat beside Ruby, slowly opening the contents of her lunch. A sandwich, an apple, bag of chips, a brownie, water bottle and…a note? She picked it up and read it.

 

_Hope you’re having a good day. Xoxo_

Blush spread to her cheeks, but she was secretly happy as she shoved it into her pocket.

 

“So, what’s it like living with Sheriff Nolan?” Lily inquired as she started to eat her hot lunch.

“It’s uh, not bad really, he’s not mean or anything. What do your parents do?”

“My dad runs the magic shop and my mom helps him from time to time, she seems to always be home though.” The teen made a face.

“’Least you have a mom,” Ruby mumbled as she ate her lunch, takeout from Granny’s as usual.

Emma bit her lip, not sure if she should ask, but finally she did. “What happened to your parents?”

“I never had a dad, my mom died a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, really.”

“So,” Lily piped up. “What’s your story?”

“My story?” Emma repeated.

“Yeah. I mean, we know you’re a foster kid but…”

Ruby kicked her best friend. “She may not want to talk about it.”

“She asked you.”

“Yeah but that doesn’t mean she has to share.”

“It’s fine,” Emma said, interrupting their banter. “My parents were drug addicts, I got put into the system. My mom died not long after that, my dad’s in jail, he has no rights.” She decided to leave out the other part…she just wasn’t ready to share that yet. Hell, if it wasn’t in her file, she probably wouldn’t have even told her foster parents.

“I’m sorry,” Lily looked sullen, suddenly. Ruby did too. She recognized the look, it was the same one she got every time she told people the story. One of sheer pity. She knew it came from a good place, but on some level, it bothered her. She never wanted to say it was okay, because it wasn’t. Nothing about her past was okay.

“Thanks.” It was the only response she knew. “So, what’s there to do in this town?”

“Nothing really,” Lily replied, making a face. “I mean, there’s after school clubs and stuff, if that’s your thing. But there’s no real hangouts. Our only chance at anything exciting is if we get invited to a high school party.”

“You get invited to high school parties?”

Lily nodded. “Yeah. Only because we know Killian Jones, he’s a freshman at the high school. His parents are never around, so he’s left alone a lot with his older brother Liam.”

“And your parents and grandma just let you go?”

Ruby laughed. “Granny would kill me if she thought I was there, I always just tell her I’m going to Lily’s. Which isn’t really a lie, since I normally sleepover there anyway afterwards.”

“And my parents trust my judgement, plus it doesn’t hurt that I tell them that Killian’s name is Kelly and that no boys will be there.”

Emma giggled. “Wow.”

“You should totally come to the next one,” Ruby offered. “I think he’s having one around Halloween time.”

“I’ll think about it, for sure.” Though, she wondered how Mary and David would take it. Her foster father didn’t even want her to wear makeup, she doubted they’d let her go to a high school party.

 

Then again…it wasn’t like Lily and Ruby ever told the truth. But could she lie? They were so nice to her. They didn’t deserve to be lied to.

 

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” She turned around in her seat and saw a tall boy standing there with a buzz cut. Her two new friends rolled their eyes.

“Get lost, Will,” Lily said.

“Oh come on Lils, introduce me to your new friend.”

“Fine, this is Emma. _Sheriff_ Nolan’s new foster daughter.” She raised her eyebrows when she mentioned the sheriff part. Emma couldn’t help but blush. She didn’t want to stress on that part.

Will just smirked. “Oh for real? I like a challenge.” And with that, he walked off.

“God, I hate him,” Lily exclaimed, aggressively stabbing her meatloaf.

“Who is he?” Emma asked.

“Will Scarlet,” Ruby explained. “He’s probably the biggest douche around here. He got held back a year, so he’s older than the rest of us.”

“Stay away from him.” Lily pointed her fork at her blonde friend.

Emma had no intention of going after boys. After her father, she wasn’t that little girl that had puppy love crushes. In fact, the overall thought of a boyfriend freaked her out. “I plan on it.”

“He’s also a thief, I think Sheriff Nolan has busted him a million times,” Lily went on. “That’s why I thought mentioning you were the sheriff’s foster daughter would scare him off. But I’m not sure anything scares him.”

“If he’s a thief, shouldn’t he be in juvie or something?”

“No one goes to juvie around here. Plus, his parents are like, one of the wealthiest families in town.”

 

Meanwhile, Mary sat at her desk. Her students were out at recess and she was not on patrol that day. She wondered about Emma. It was lunchtime for her. She hoped that she was having a good day and that the note hadn’t embarrassed her too much. She pulled out her phone and sent a text.

 

**Hey sweets, how’s your day doing?**

Not long after, she got a response.

 

**Good. Eating lunch with Ruby and her friend, Lily.**

Mary smiled. She liked Lily, she was a little on the wild side, but she was overall a good kid. Before she could respond, she got another text from Emma.

 

**Thanks for the note…though it was a little kindergarten-ish.**

She laughed and typed back…

 

**Sorry, you know I just see you as a little girl.**

**I know…it was sweet.**

Mary told her foster daughter to have a good day and was about to put her phone away when it rang. David’s handsome face filled the screen. She grinned and answered it.

 

“Hey handsome.”

“Hey beautiful. How’s your day going?”

“Pretty good. The kids are out at recess. How about you?”

“As well as it could be. A few traffic stops. Have you heard from Emma?”

Mary smiled, he was so sweet for worrying. “She just texted me. Her day is doing well, she’s at lunch right now with Ruby and Lily Page.”

“Lily Page? You know I busted her at that rager the Jones boys threw last month…”

“David.”

“She a little young for that. Is she the best influence on Emma?”

“She’s a good kid, if anything just a little misguided. Plus, Ruby’s a good kid.” She heard her husband sigh. “We can’t go around banning her from hanging out with people for no good reason.”

“Alright, alright. As long as she stays away from Will.”

“I’m sure Lily and Ruby will make sure of that, they’re not big fans of him.”

“I better get going. I love you.”

“I love you, too. And David?”

“Yeah?”

“You going all protective…kinda sexy.”

He chuckled. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well now I really can’t wait to see you later.”

She smiled. “Me either.” She hung up the phone and stood up, ready to go pick up her kids from the playground.

* * *

 

Emma ran around the gym, her heart pounding heavily in her chest. She didn’t care. When she ran, she was at peace. She didn’t think about the negative, it was all positive. It didn’t matter that she was wearing the ugliest gym uniform either or that she had lost her hair elastic about five laps earlier, she just loved the feel of the floor under her feet.

 

“And that’s a wrap,” the coach called out. “You ladies can go change now.”

 

Emma actually pouted, heading for the locker room. This was her last class and she would have to make her way over to Mary’s classroom.

 

“Swan!” The coach called out. She walked over to him.

“Yes?”

“You’re fast.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess.”

“It is a compliment. Have you ever ran track?”

“No.”

“We have a team here, if you run track with me, you’ve got a good chance making varsity your freshman year.”

She felt a little shocked. “You really think I’m that good?”

“Definitely.”

“But the school year’s already started…”

“We haven’t had tryouts yet. They’re on Friday, if you’re interested just show up after the final bell.”

 

She thanked the coach and headed into the locker room, thinking about it. Could she actually have a shot? Did she want to do it? She wasn’t sure, but she did have a few days to consider it.

 

After taking a quick shower and changing, she followed the signs to the elementary school building. Mary’s classroom was pretty easy to spot. She walked in and saw a few students were still lingering.

 

“Am I early?” She asked.

Mary shook her head. “Nope, right on time. They’re just finishing up some work.”

“Ah.”

“So.” Her foster mother was beaming. “How was your first day? I want to hear all about it.”

“It was good, Ruby and Lily are really nice. And uh…the coach said I should try out for track.”

“That’s amazing! Are you going to?”

“I’m not really sure. I’ve never played a sport before.”

“Still, it sounds like a fun way to meet more people.”

“I have until Friday to decide, that’s when try outs are.” Mary nodded and began to pack up her things. “You don’t have meetings or anything?”

“Not today.” She slid her binder into her bag. “Just so you know, when you do make the team, I’ll be at every meet, cheering you on.”

Emma blushed again, but also smiled. “You’re really going to be that embarrassing team mom?”

“Of course! Oh, I could make you guys cookies. You have to try out, just so I could do that.”

Emma giggled, Mary was just so excited about stuff. She realized just how badly she must have wanted a child to share all this with.

 

The next few days went by with no real issues. Emma was finding her groove with school and she was more and more considering joining the track team. On Thursday afternoon, she stood at the beach, waiting for Lily and Ruby to meet up with her. It was getting chillier, but they wanted to take a walk around before it got way too cold. She checked her phone to see the time, when she heard someone calling her name. She looked up and saw Will standing there.

 

“Hi,” she said, shoving her hands into her jacket pocket.

“Hey.” He looked around. “Where are your friends?”

“They’re on their way.”

“I see. Why don’t you blow them off and come with me?”

“No thank you.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Oh come on.” He put his hand on her torso and she pulled away. He simply pulled her closer and grabbed her nearly non-existent breast. “Don’t be a tease.”

Her breath hitched as her mind moved back to eight years ago.

_“Don’t be a bad girl, Emma,” her biological father whispered harshly as his hand slipped down her pajama pants. She tried to jerk away, but to no avail._

“S…stop it!” She tried to pull away from Will, but he kept his grip closer. “Will, let me go!!!”

“Give me a kiss first.”

_“Kiss it, Emma,” her biological father demanded, shaking her hard. “I told you to kiss it!”_

“Please! Just…just let me go!” The tears poured down her face.

“She said let her go.”

 

She looked up to see a boy with curly brown hair standing there. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Will, but his fists were clenched, he looked pissed.

  
“Mind your own business, Baelfire.”

 

So this was Baelfire. Emma didn’t have much time to think about that before the boy pulled her away. The next thing he did, was punch Will in the face. Emma screamed, the tears falling further down her face, her breathing becoming uneven. She sunk down into the sand, having more flashbacks and shaking. In the meantime, Will was running off and Baelfire was trying to get her to calm down.

 

“Come on, you have to stay calm. What’s your name? Can you at least give me that?” She shook her head no, she was now hypervenelating. She didn’t even notice when he grabbed her backpack and shifted through it. “Emma Swan…you’re staying with Sheriff and Mrs. Nolan, right?” All she could do was nod. “Alright…alright…” He ran a hand through his hair and went to say something else, but the next thing Emma knew, her world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is why the story is rated M, there will be more flashbacks like this as the series progresses. Anyway, Baelfire saved the day, but what will happen with Emma now? How will Mary and David react?


	5. My Daughter

When Emma came to, she was sitting on a bench, Baelfire right beside her. He grabbed his bottle of water and handed it to her.

 

“Drink up.” She looked hesitant. “I promise, I didn’t do anything to it, just drink up.” She took some slow, small sips. “You scared me half to death.”

“Where…where’s Will?” She whispered.

“Probably home. I called your foster parents, they should be here soon.”

She nodded, her head was still spinning. “Thanks…for everything.”

“Will’s an ass.”

 

She just nodded again, biting down on her lip and thinking about her biological father more. Tears sprung to her eyes yet again, how could this almost happen again?

 

“Emma!”

 

She looked up and saw Mary and David running toward her, they looked worried. The first thing the brunette did was sweep her up into her arms and hug her tightly. Emma hugged her back, just as tightly, tears falling down her cheeks.

 

“Oh my baby, it’s okay, you’re okay,” Mary whispered, stroking her hair.

David looked over at Baelfire, who was collecting his things. “Thank you, Baelfire.”

“It was no problem, Sheriff.”

“Did you see where that bastard went?”

“No, I was just trying to take care of Emma. I better get going, though, my father is probably out of his mind, I was supposed to be home awhile ago.” And with that, he was gone.

 

David turned to his wife, who was practically rocking Emma back and forth, despite her feet being on the ground. The blonde had soft tears falling down her face and she was clinging to Mary as if her life depended on it. His muscles tightened as his heart broke. His little girl, his baby. Baelfire didn’t know why Emma was having this panic attack, but he did and it made everything ten times worse. He bent down to kiss Emma’s head and she pulled away, tightening her grip on her mother.

 

“Princess..” he whispered.

 

She shook her head and Mary gave him a loving look that said “Back off for now.” He sighed and turned around, walking away.

 

“David!” Mary called out after him. “Where are you going?”

 

He ignored her and kept on walking. He just walked and walked until he found himself in front of one of the nicest houses in Storybrooke. He hadn’t been on duty when they got the call from Baelfire, so he didn’t have his gun. Deep down, he knew that was a good thing. He was beyond pissed. This would be his first time visiting Mr. and Mrs. Scarlet not as the sheriff, but as an angry father. He pounded on the door and it swung open, Mrs. Scarlet standing there.

  
“Oh Sheriff,” she sighed. “What’d Will do now?”

“Your son sexually assaulted my daughter!”

“You have a daughter? Since when?”

“We just began fostering her recently! According to a witness, he was grabbing her breast and wouldn’t let her go, even though she said no!”

The woman sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. “William, come down here please!”  


The boy walked over and saw the sheriff, causing him to smirk. It took all David had to not shove him through the wall.

 

“Did you harass Sheriff Nolan’s foster daughter?” His mother asked.

“No.”

“There was a witness!” David exclaimed. “Don’t lie!”

Mrs. Scarlet put an arm around her son. “Who’s your witness?”

“I’d rather not say, I don’t want your son to harass him.”

“Is this about what Baelfire saw?” Will laughed. “He overreacted. Emma was throwing herself at me.”

“Then why did she have a panic attack?” David practically screamed.

“Don’t scream at my son!”

“Your son assaulted my daughter! You can’t just protect him from this!”

“You’re not on duty Sheriff and it’s a major case of he said, she said. So unless you want to press charges, you can leave. But you know my husband won’t let anything happen.”

David’s jaw locked. He felt so helpless. She was right. He could call for backup, have him arrested, but his daddy would have him out in under an hour. He wanted justice for Emma, but that wasn’t going to happen. “You stay away from Emma or else.”

“I’m not scared of you,” the teenager said. “And you tell Emma to stop asking for it.”

 

He had to walk away, it was all the blonde could do before he killed the kid. He wasn’t worth the jail time. Mary and Emma needed him.  He felt bad for just walking away. He hadn’t been mad at Emma for pushing him away, no, he blamed Will for that. She was doing okay. Then he came along and ruined all of it.

 

David let out a long sigh and started the walk home, he needed to get to his girls.

* * *

Mary Margaret drove Emma home once she finally let her go, though she hadn’t wanted to. She wished she could’ve just picked the girl up and carried her all the way back to the house. She probably could’ve, Emma was a lot smaller than her and Mary used to be a hunter, but she knew logistically they needed to drive. The ride was silent, barring a few sniffles from the small blonde in the passenger seat.

 

Finally they arrived and Mary lead her inside and up to her room. Emma collapsed onto the bed and held her baby blanket close. Mary laid beside her and stroked her hair.

 

“Talk to me, sweets,” she whispered.

The teenager shook her head. “No.”

“Please.”

“I just…I feel so embarrassed. I had a panic attack! Why did that have to make me remember everything?”

“I don’t know, sweets,” she whispered, cupping her face. “But it’s normal, you went through something terrible.”

Emma bit her lip. “I shouldn’t have pulled away from David.”

“It’s okay, baby.”

“He walked away, he hates me.”

“No, no, no, that’s not true.”

“Why else would he have walked away?”

“He was angry, sweets, but not at you, with Will.”

 

The blonde shook her head and held her blanket tighter. Mary laid a kiss to her temple.

 

“How about when David comes back, I go pick up take out from Granny’s. Grilled cheese and onion rings?” Mary asked.

“I’m not really hungry.”

“Oh come on, you need to eat. I’ll get some milkshakes too.”

 

The door opened and David walked in, causing Mary to stand up.

 

“I’ll go order the food and pick it up,” she said, she walked out, giving her husband a Look as she did. “She thinks you hate her,” she whispered. “Fix that.”

 

David’s heart broke all over again as his wife walked out. He went to Emma’s bed and sat beside her.

  
“Princess, can I hug you?” She slowly nodded, so he carefully moved her onto his lap. “I’m sorry I left like that, it wasn’t because I hate you, quite the opposite actually. I was so angry, because I love you. And when someone hurts those I love…it does something to me.”

Emma sniffled. “I’m sorry I pushed you away.”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

“You’re not going to send me back? I mean…maybe you could get a normal daughter…one who doesn’t have panic attacks or…”

“Emma.” David lifted her chin up with his finger.  “I don’t want another daughter. Just because you have panic attacks, doesn’t make you not normal. You’ve been through so much, baby. All of this is understandable. I’m not mad that you pushed me away, I don’t hate you and I’m not sending you back.”

Light tears fell down her face. “Are you sure?”

“They’d have to pry you from my arms,” he whispered, wiping the tears with his thumb. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered.

 

They sat there for a few minutes, staying like that. Finally, she pulled off, though she stayed on his lap.

 

“Where did you go?” She asked.

“I uh, paid Will a visit.”

“You didn’t kill him did you?”

“I was tempted, but no. I just told him to leave you alone. I would’ve arrested him…”

“Don’t, please,” Emma begged.

“Emmy…”

“Please, don’t. I don’t want anyone else to know. It’s bad enough that Baelfire knows. I just want it go away.”

“Well, for now, he’s free. But if he touches you again, I’m not going to go that easy.”

Emma nodded. “Thanks.”

“What are dads for?”

“I wouldn’t know,” she muttered.

“Do you…I mean you obviously can’t visit him…but has your biological father ever tried reaching out?” He asked.

Emma shook her head. “I wrote him one, once.”

“Oh really?”

“It was when they told me when he got out, he wouldn’t be able to take me again. I wanted to know if that upset him. But he never responded.”

 

David didn’t know what to say. On the one hand, he was glad the man didn’t respond, but on the other, he could tell how much it hurt his baby.

 

She sighed and grabbed her blanket, hugging it tight, nearly forgetting David was sitting there. He smiled and stroked her hair.

 

“You look so cute.”

Her cheeks flushed. “No I don’t.”

“Yes you do.” He kissed her forehead.

 

Pretty soon, Mary returned with the food and they settled into the kitchen to eat it. Emma didn’t want to talk about what happened, so Mary kept her distracted with asking her about school.

 

“Track try outs are tomorrow, have you decided whether or not you’re going to try out?”

The blonde nodded. “I think I will. Though, I probably won’t make it.”

“The coach is the one who told you to try out,” the brunette said. “Of course you’ll make it.”

“I’ve watched you practice,” David said. “You’re very good.”

“You have to say that,” the blonde replied, taking a sip of her milkshake.

“No I don’t, I only say what I mean.” He noticed some ketchup on her face and grabbed his napkin, wiping it off, causing her to blush again. “I’m going to start calling you Cherry with how much you blush.”

“Don’t you dare,” she said, but a smile crept up on her face.

 

After dinner, she headed upstairs to get her homework done while Mary and David stayed in the kitchen, discussing what had happened.

 

“Will denied it, he tried to say that Emma wanted it,” David said.

Mary’s fists clenched. “That kid…”

“There’s really not much I can do for now and it kills me. He could really hurt Emma or someone else and his parents aren’t doing anything to fix it.”

“I could always shoot him with my bow and arrow.”

“Mary.”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t say that out loud. Maybe one day I’ll just be practicing archery and mistake him for the target.” David chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. She kissed his cheek, but then her face fell serious. “We need to contact Archie.”

“Mary…”

“She had a panic attack.”

“Because some guy tried groping her. That could’ve happened even without her past. I don’t know if we should push it yet.”

Mary sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll give it more time.”

Emma stood on the track field the following afternoon, wearing a pair of red shorts and a white tank top. It was a little cold, but she needed to be able to move freely. She looked over at the stands. Not too many people were there as it was just tryouts, but Mary was sitting there, a huge smile on her face and a camera in her hands. Lily stood beside her, stretching, she noticed Mary.

 

“Is that Mrs. Nolan?” She asked.

Emma blushed. “Yeah. She insisted on coming and taking pictures.”

“That is so sweet.”

“Sort of embarrassing. No one else has their mom here.”  


It was the first time she had ever just referred to Mary as her mom and not “foster mom”. It felt right.

 

“Alright girls,” Coach spoke up. “The first mile, will just be running, when we get to the second, that’s when the hurdles will start. I’m looking for not only the fastest times, but also the most coordinated. On your mark, get set…” He blew his whistle and Emma took off running.

 

It took her awhile to even realize that she was nearing the end of her mile, she heard the coach yelling out the time, but she ignored it. Once she reached the hurdles, she jumped, getting over each and every single one.

 

Mary sat in the stands, watching the blonde in awe. She was so fast, so dedicated. She didn’t look up once, she just kept running. Every time her daughter went to leap over a hurdle, she’d get nervous, only to be made proud. She was snapping pictures and cheering.

 

It finally ended and Emma walked over to her bag, panting a bit. She was sweating, her heart was racing, but she had a lot of fun. She grabbed the water bottle and downed half of it in under a minute.

  
“Okay ladies, I think I’ve made my decision. There can only be eight girls, so keep in mind if you didn’t make it, you could always try out for cross country in the spring,” he looked down at his clipboard. “To start off, with the fastest time, Lily Page.” Lily smiled and hugged Emma, who hugged her back tighter. “Followed quickly by, Emma Swan.”  


A huge grin went across Emma’s face and she hugged Lily, herself. She couldn’t believe it, she had actually made the team!

 

After a quick shower, she headed back out onto the field, where Mary stood. She hugged Emma tight.

 

“I told you, Sweets!” She squealed. Emma giggled and hugged her back tighter.

“How many pictures did you take?”

“Tons! Your father is going to be so proud! Oh, I am too.” She kissed her forehead and kept an arm around her. “I’m probably really embarrassing you right now, huh?”

“Kinda.”

“Well good, it’s my job.”

 

The two headed home where David was just pulling in. Emma hopped out of Mary’s car and threw her arms around him. The blonde smiled and hugged her tight.

 

“Hey Princess. How did it go?”

“I made the team!”

He lifted her up and spun her around. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I knew you could do it!” He kissed her forehead and she went to release her grip, but he stayed holding her.

* * *

Later that night, Emma sat on the porch swing, reading one of the books that David had bought for her in the glow of the porch light. She glanced up for a moment to see a familiar brunette making his way up.

 

“Baelfire.”

“I just wanted to check on you,” he said. “I’m sorry I left so quickly yesterday.”

“It’s okay.” She placed a marker in the book and set it down, patting the spot next to her. “Take a seat.” He sat beside her. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”

“You got there just in time. Thank you.”

“Will’s an ass.”

“Understatement of the year.”

“So…are you here for good?”

She bit her lip. “So they say.”

“You don’t trust them?”

“They’re amazing but I’ve known them a week. They say they want to be my parents, it’s just hard to believe people after what I’ve been through.”

“I get it,” he said, giving her a sad smile. “Kinda.”

“Were you a foster kid?”

“No. But for the past ten years, it’s just been my dad and me. My mom left us when I was little.”

Emma reached out and took his hand. “I feel so sad for you.”

He smiled. “Most people say they’re sorry.”

“I know, people do the same with me, but they shouldn’t. They didn’t do anything.”

“Exactly. Anyway, my dad started dating this girl recently. She’s really nice and all, I just worry she’ll hurt him like my mom did.”

“People always leave,” the blonde whispered.

Bae nodded in agreement. “My dad always says I’m too young to be jaded.”

“Sometimes I feel that way.”

“Then again, he’s probably the most protective person on the planet, he’s probably wondering where I am now.”

“Just be happy you have someone who cares,” she told him.

“I am, I really am.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, who gets it, I’m here.”

“Thanks Baelfire,” she gave him a smile. She got up and watched him walk off before grabbing her book and going inside. She saw Mary standing by the window, quickly shutting the curtains. “Were you spying on me?”

“Psht…no…” The woman fibbed. Emma rolled her eyes. “What was Baelfire doing here?”

“Checking up on me.”

“That was nice of him.”

“Yeah. Did you know about his mom?”

Mary nodded, a frown creeping on her lip. “Milah was always too big for this town, it’s just terrible that she had to feel she was too good for her own son.”

Emma nodded. “That’s terrible.”

“It is. But he still has his father.”

* * *

That night, Emma thrashed around in her sleep, having yet another nightmare. What she couldn’t realize, was that she was screaming in her sleep. David burst through the door and shook her awake.

 

“Emma, Princess, wake up,” he watched as her beautiful green eyes flickered open, but tears instantly came out of them. He sat beside her, shifting her up and holding her tightly in his arms. “It’s okay, it was just a bad dream, it’s okay. It’s not real.”

“But it…it…it was!” She sobbed, clinging to his shirt.

“It’s not your life anymore, I’m your dad now, I’ve got you. I won’t let anything hurt you, ever.” He slowly rocked her back and forth, kissing her head every few minutes. He wiped away her tears and continued to rock her.

“I love you, Daddy,” Emma whispered.

David felt his heart soar and kissed her head. “I love you too, Princess.”

 

 


	6. Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop

A few days passed after Emma had called David “Daddy” and it had stuck. She didn’t always call him “Daddy”, sometimes it was just “Dad”. But she had yet to call Mary “Mom”. She knew she wanted to, it just didn’t come out.

 

Mary was so happy for her husband, Emma and him were building a very close bond. Of course a part of her was jealous. She didn’t want Emma to call her “Mom” before she was ready. She just hoped that eventually she would feel comfortable calling her that. Little did she know, that day was about to come.

 

Emma stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching Mary cook breakfast. She adjusted the backpack, debating how to do this. She hadn’t planned to call David “Daddy” when she had been so upset, but it had just come out. She didn’t want the same to happen here.

 

“Mom?”

 

Mary Margaret froze, wondering if she had just heard her right. She didn’t want to make a huge deal of it, all the literature she read had just said to go off the child’s lead. But inside, her heart was pounding and she was full of happiness. Tears were in her eyes as she finally turned around to face her daughter.

 

“Yes, honey?”

“What’s for breakfast?”

The brunette smiled. “Toast and oatmeal.”

“Sounds good.”

Mary walked over and pulled the girl into her arms, hugging her tight. The young blonde hugged her tighter.

A month went by and Emma continued to become even more comfortable with everything. She was still having the nightmares but was managing to hide them from her parents, she really didn’t want to worry them or have them send her back. They kept saying nothing would make them, but she wasn’t sure if she could trust them completely, yet. They said they understood, but deep down, they worried that she would never get used to the fact that this was her home and that they were her forever family.

 

Lily and Ruby considered her a part of their crew now, calling her their best friend. She wasn’t sure if she felt the same way yet, but that was partially because she never had a best friend before. Still, she enjoyed their company and having Lily on the track team with her was a huge plus. She even had become friends with Baelfire. Even though he was a year older, somehow he fit in with their circle. He didn’t mind being surrounded by girls either. He had confided in Emma he didn’t have many friends and the group made him feel happy.

 

Halloween was quickly approaching and the town of Storybrooke had transformed. It reminded her of one of her favorite Disney Channel movies, Halloweentown. There were decorations all around Main Street, including a huge Pumpkin by the mayor’s office. The school wasn’t afraid to decorate either. Normally in Boston, there would be celebrations but most people headed to Salem for their fix.

 

Emma walked out of the locker room after track practice one rainy Wednesday afternoon. It had been raining a lot lately, which meant running inside. Lily caught up with her as she headed back into the regular school.

 

“So, you’ve officially made it!”

“Huh?”

“Killian Jones has invited you to his party!”

“Oh, I think I remember you and Ruby telling me about those,” Emma said as she adjusted her backpack strap.

Lily smiled. “So normally we meet at my house and walk from there, it’s not far.”

“Sounds good.”

“So you’ll come?”

“I’m sure my parents will let me, they seem to get really excited whenever I hang out with you guys.”

“I think they’re just happy you’re making friends.”

“I am, too.”

 

Soon Lily’s mother pulled up and drove Emma home. The whole way, the girls discussed practice and a meet they had coming up the following week. Once she got home, the sun was hanging lower in the sky and it was a tad cooler. She took it in, the fall afternoon in a small town was a lot different than the big city. Kids were playing in the leaves, warm smells came from the windows, whether it be soup or hot chocolate.

 

She headed inside and put her backpack up on the hook.

  
“I’m home!” She called out.

Mary poked her head out of the living room. “Hey honey. How was track?”

“It was good. I’m going to get some homework out of the way before dinner.”

“Alright, your dad will be home soon.”

 

Sometimes it all felt a little _too_ perfect for Emma. She went to school, came home and hung out with her parents, unless she was going out with her friends. Mary made her snacks and David had a ton of “dad jokes”. She hated the feeling, but she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

That night, she sat around the table, eating the roast her mother had cooked.

 

“Are you doing anything with the girls this weekend?” David asked.

“Yeah, I’m going to spend the night at Lily’s after this party.” She watched her parents exchange a Look. “What?”

“What party?” Her dad asked.

“Killian Jones.”

“The freshman?” Her mom questioned, setting her fork down.

“Well, yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone else with the name Killian.”

“Killian’s parents are out of town this week,” Mary said.

“I know, but his brother Liam’s going to be there.”

“Well you’ll have to miss this one,” her mom said.

“Excuse me?”

“Emma, you’re thirteen, you can’t go to an unsupervised party.”

“Not to mention,” David added. “You’re not going to any supervised high school parties until you’re in high school.”

“But that’s not fair,” she was trying to keep her voice even. “Lily gets to go.”

“Lily’s parents may be okay with it, we’re not,” her father told her.

“You guys said I wouldn’t have any rules.”

“No,” Mary corrected. “We said you wouldn’t have a lot. You’re not going to the party.”

Emma sunk lower into her seat. She couldn’t believe this, her parents had yet to say no to her. It’s not as if she had asked for anything. She just didn’t understand why they had to say no this.

 

After helping Mary clear the table, she headed upstairs to her room and called Ruby.

 

“My parents said no to the party,” she said, or more whined.

“Why would you tell them the truth?”

“I don’t want to lie to them.”

“Well if you want to go, you’ll have to.”

Emma bit down on her lip. “Do you really get away with it?”

“Every time. I’ve been doing this since last year.”

 

She looked down at the ground. She didn’t want to lie to her parents, they really had been great to her and she hadn’t had any rules that she could think of. There was basic stuff, like she had to be home by 8:30 on school nights, 9:30 on weekends, but that seemed normal to her. She had curfews at the group home too. They were so nice and really cared about her.

 

On the other hand, she knew what a big deal it was to be invited to a party like this. Lily and Ruby were the only other 8th graders to be invited to the party. Plus, Killian was only a freshman. How wild could it possibly be?

 

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Awesome. Just have Mrs. Nolan drop you off at Lily’s around 7 on Friday.”

“I will. See you tomorrow, Rube.”

 

Emma waited to ask about the sleepover. She knew it’d look suspicious if she ran downstairs asking about it. So at dinner the next night, she brought it up, saying that Lily’s parents had actually not been okay with the party, so they were just going to have a sleepover. They actually bought it, much to Emma’s surprise. Mary even offered to make brownies for it, which just made the blonde feel even worse.

 

Come Friday night, she stuck some clothes in a backpack along with toiletries and headed down the stairs. David was standing there, looking a little anxious. It would be her first night away from them since she had gotten there.

 

“You have your phone, right?” He asked her.

“Yup. And my charger.”

“Great. Call me or Mom if you need anything.”

“I will. Dad, I’ll be fine. You know Lily’s parents.”

“Yes, I do. But you’re my daughter.” He hugged her tight.

She sighed, feeling a little guilty as she hugged him back. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Princess.”

 

Princess. Did he have to call her that? It almost made her reveal the whole thing right then and there. But she couldn’t do that, it’d ruin things for Ruby and she didn’t deserve that. _Maybe I could fake sick_ , she thought. _No, you want to go to this party. Plus, faking sick would just be another lie and they’d worry more._

“Ready to go, sweets?” Mary asked, pulling on a sweater.

“Uh yeah, if Dad would let me out of his grip.”

David chuckled and kissed her head. “Have fun, baby girl. Call us at some point to check in.”

“Will do.”

 

She headed out the door and tried to keep up a conversation with her mother the whole way, hoping talking a lot would make her more believable. Soon they were in front of Lily’s house. Mary kissed her cheek.

 

“Have fun, sweets.” She pushed hair out of her face, sighing.

“Mom, don’t tell me you’re going to be like Dad.”

“It’s just our first time away from you.”

“Yeah but you’re acting like I’m a newborn you’re leaving at daycare the first time.” She cracked a smile so Mary would know it didn’t make her mad.

“Well, for us it’s like that. Except with daycare you can pick them up after eight hours.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, alright.”  The brunette kissed her cheek. “Have fun! I loved sleepovers when I was your age. Eat lots of junk food and watch cheesy movies.”

“Will do.” That wasn’t a total lie, they probably would do that after the party.

 

She got out of the car and knocked on the front door. Mal, Lily’s mom, opened it with a grin.

 

“Hey Emma, head on upstairs. The girls are getting ready for Kelly’s party.”

 

 _That’s right_ , she thought to herself as she headed up to her friend’s room. _Lil’s lying to her parents too._

“Hey Ems!” Ruby said. “You look cute.”

She glanced down at her outfit, jeans and a black and red long sleeve peasant top, under her now signature leather jacket. “Thanks. Is it good? I didn’t want to make it too obvious I was going to a party.”

“It’s great!” Ruby herself was in a red maxi dress with black leggings and a jean jacket. Lily was shrugging a sweater over her long sleeved tee that advertised her dad’s magic shop, wearing jeans underneath. It made Emma feel a little better about her outfit choice.

“Nice shirt,” she commented.

“Thanks, figured it’d butter Dad up a bit if he figured out where I really was.” She saw Emma turn pale. “Which we won’t, chill.”

“I hated lying to them.”

“We’re teenagers, it’s what we do.”

 

Lily finished getting ready and Emma grabbed her wallet wristlet from her bag before following her friends downstairs. Mr. Page was settling onto the couch with a can of beer.

 

“Atta girl, getting your old man some free advertising,” he gave his daughter a proud smile.

“You know me, Daddy.” She kissed his cheek.

“Keep your friends out of trouble.”

“Why do you assume I’m the trouble maker?”

“Because you are. Emma and Ruby are such sweet girls, don’t know how they ended up with you,” he teased.

Lily rolled her eyes as her mother walked in. “Leave her alone, Marvin.”

“Ah, but then what fun would I have?”

“Ready to go girls?” Mal asked, turning to her daughter and her friends.

“Yeah,” Lily said. “We won’t be back too late.”

“Call if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

 

They walked out the door and headed down a couple of blocks. Lily lived near the beach, but Killian’s house was ocean front. The salty sea air filled Emma’s nose and she held her jacket tighter to her as they walked up the steps. Some high schoolers were on the porch, playing beer pong.

 

“There’s alcohol?” Emma whispered to Ruby.

“Yeah. We never drink it. Liam always supplies it.”

She bit her lip, but kept walking, trying to tell herself it would be okay, it wasn’t like she had to drink anything.

 

Once inside, she got her first glimpse at Killian Jones. He was tall, with dark hair and matching eyes. He was surrounded by a bunch of girls, but broke away when he saw Lily, walking over to the group.

 

“Hey Lil,” When he spoke, an Irish accent came out. “Hey Rube. And this must be Emma.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” she said.

“No problem. I was a bit hesitant, you being the sheriff’s foster kid and all, but you’re no nark are you?”

“Of course not.” That thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. If somehow David found out, Liam and Killian’s parents could find out and Liam could get in legal trouble…

 

She tried to push the thoughts out of her head as Killian reached over to a table and held up some beer cans.

 

“Want some?”

“Sure.” Lily took hers, Ruby followed suit, so Emma decided to as well.

“I have to go greet some others, but I’ll see you ladies later.”

Emma watched him walk off. “I thought you said we don’t drink.”

“We don’t. We just pretend to. Relax, it’ll be fun.”

 

The group walked around, mingling and Emma found herself really relaxing. Even Baelfire was there and having fun. She even took a few sips of her beer, which seemed to help her relax even more.

* * *

A little after Mary returned home, she headed into the kitchen and noticed that the brownies she had made were still on the table. She picked them up and went back into the den. David was putting in a movie, they were going to enjoy a night alone. They loved Emma, but they hadn’t had much “them” time since she moved in.

 

“I’m just going to go run these to Mal and Martin’s,” she told him.

“Or we could just eat them,” David smirked.

“No, no, I promised these to the girls.”

“I want something sweet.”

“I’ll give you something sweet alright,” she walked over and kissed his neck. He grinned and gave her a kiss. The two held it for a minute, pulling apart eventually with their foreheads resting together.

“Go drop those off and come home. I think we should skip the movie.”

“Sounds good to me.” She gave him one last kiss and headed out. Soon she was back at Mal’s knocking on the door.

“Hey Mary,” she said.

“Hi, I made these for the girls.” She held up the tin covered plate. “I totally forgot to send them with Emma.”

“Oh, thank you. I’m sure they’ll enjoy them when they get back.”

“Back?”

“Yeah, they went to Kelly’s party. Lily said Emma got permission from you and David.”

“Kelly?” Mary scanned her mind for a Kelly in their class. None came up. The only Kelly she knew was in the third grade. Suddenly, she put two and two together. “Emma did ask us if she could go to _Killian’_ s party. We told  her no.”

“Killian? As in Killian Jones? He’s in high school.”

“Which is why we said no…to be honest, I know everyone at that school and there’s no Kelly in their grade.”

Mal’s lips formed a thin line. “They lied.”

 

Mary’s head was spinning. Emma had lied to her. She didn’t want to believe it. Sure, she hadn’t known the girl long but she was her daughter. She thought she could trust her.  How could she have been so naïve? It all made sense now. But she couldn’t help but wonder how her daughter lied while keeping a straight face? Or maybe that was part of it. She was new at raising her, maybe if she had her since birth, she would know when she was lying.

 

“I’ll go tell Marvin to get the girls,” Mal started to say.

“No, no. I’ll call David and have him go get them. I have a feeling the sheriff showing up is going to be enough to show Liam that he shouldn’t be allowing his underage brother to throw these parties.”

“Good idea.”

 

Mary took out her cell phone and called her husband, he picked up after the third ring.

 

“David, don’t panic.”

“Why would you say that? Are you okay? Is Emma?!? Did she have nightmare?!?”

“She lied to us, David.”

“Emma wouldn’t lie,” he replied, matter-of-factly.

“She did. She’s not at Lily’s. Mal said they went to a party.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Killian’s.”

“We told her no!”

“I hate to admit it, but we have a teenager now, she’s probably not always going to listen to us.”

“This is insane.”

“Can you go pick them up?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Great. I’ll be back at the house. But David?”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t yell at her in front of her friends. We’ll handle this at home. She’s going to be embarrassed enough.”

“Alright, alright.”

* * *

Emma was sitting around a table, watching some kids play beer pong. She was sipping soda with the girls, but she had finally relaxed. It was fun for her, lots of kids were talking to her and wanted to know more about her. Baelfire had already left, his dad didn’t know he was at the party either.

 

“Emma Swan.”

 

Her heart stopped. She knew who’s voice that was. She didn’t want to turn around and face it. She was so busted, so, so busted. She heard Lily whisper “Shit” and could see out of the corner of her eye, Ruby burying her head in her hands.

 

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be a nark,” Killian muttered.

“I didn’t…I swear…” Emma stuttered out.

“She didn’t tell me anything.” Now Emma could smell David’s cologne. He was right behind her. “I’m one though, so I’ll be calling my buddy at the station. If you’re smart, you’ll have this place cleared out by the time he gets here.”

 

Ruby and Lily got up, without even being asked. Emma kept her eyes forward, her face bright red. She couldn’t believe she had actually been caught.

 

“Emma, let’s go.” She didn’t move. “Emma.” David’s voice was at a level she had never heard it. He sounded so pissed.

 

She drew back a deep breath and stood up, refusing to meet his gaze. Feeling about two feet tall, she followed her friends and father out to the truck. She and her friends climbed into the backseat, none of them wanting to sit up front with the sheriff.

 

“Mal, your parents know the truth and Ruby, so does your grandmother. I’ll be dropping the two of you off. I don’t think any of you will be having sleepovers for some time.”

 

The three teens shared a look, knowing they were in deep shit. The entire ride home was silent, barring David’s call to the station. The first drop off was Lily, she gave her friends a hug and whispered to Emma that she didn’t blame her. Ruby also assured the blonde that she wasn’t upset when they got to the diner. They knew they couldn’t be, it was only a matter of time before someone connected the dots.

 

Soon, the father and daughter were back at the house. She followed him inside and saw Mary’s feet. She wasn’t going to look either of them in the eye.

 

“Emma, look at us,” Mary said. She didn’t look up. “Emma, look at us when we’re talking to you.” She slowly looked up at them, they looked different. A mixture of disappointment and anger was in their eyes. “What were you thinking?” The blonde didn’t speak. “Well? We’re giving you your opportunity to explain yourself.”

“I…I…” she whispered. “I just really wanted to go.”

“That’s no excuse. We told you no for a reason,” her mother said.

“There was alcohol at that party. Did you have any?”

She bit her lip, knowing she couldn’t lie anymore “I, uh, took a few sips of one beer.”

David pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you know how dangerous alcohol is for someone under the age of 21?!?”

“It was just a few sips…”

“You’re under 21, so it should have been zero!”

He was yelling at her. She didn’t like this, at all. “I…”

“You lied to us, Emma,” Mary said, her voice not really angry, more stern. “We trusted you and you broke that tonight.”

She looked back down at the floor. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I appreciate that, but sorry isn’t going to make this okay. You could’ve been hurt and we’d have no idea.”

 _Oh God, they’re going to send me back_ , Emma thought. Panic begin to fill her. This was it. The other shoe.

“You’re grounded. Three weeks.”

“Grounded?” Emma looked up.

“Yes,” Mary said, folding her arms. “You go to school, you come home. The only exception is track, as you will stick by your commitments, but if there’s a pasta party or sleepover, you won’t go.”

“No going out with any of your friends either,” David added. “And you can’t text or call them, your cell phone is for contacting us only.” It was weird, the parents hadn’t discussed a punishment at all, yet they somehow were doing a great job coming up with it on their own.

“On top of that, as I said, you have lost our trust. I don’t know what it’ll take to earn it back,” Mary told her. “We are so disappointed in you.”

 

Emma didn’t know what to say or do, she had never had this conversation with anyone before. So, she did all she knew, she ran, all the way up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door shut and throwing herself down on the bed. Tears streamed down her face as she held her baby blanket close.

 

Mary and David stood downstairs, looking at each other. The night’s events had been a whirlwind of emotions.

 

“Were we too hard on her?” Mary asked.

“I don’t think so.” David sighed. “I don’t know. I’m still new at this parenting thing. She’s been so good up until now.”

“I know, I know. Mal said that Lily’s going to be grounded, Granny said the same thing, but it was like second nature to them.”

“Because they’ve been raising these kids for more than a month.”

“True, true.”

“We’re doing it out of love, hopefully she gets that. She can’t lie to us and get away with it.”

Mary bit her lip. “I can’t believe she had some beer.”

“I wish I had told her about all the teens I’ve seen with alcohol poisoning.”

“We’ll all talk in the morning, calmer. She’s still grounded, but we’ll all be calmer.”

 

David nodded. He hated yelling at his little girl. She looked so upset, he could tell that she felt guilty. On another level, that made it worse. Like she knew it was wrong and she did it anyway. He didn’t want to know this side of her, the side that could lie to his face. He just wanted her to be his sweet little girl.

 

But the reality was, she was a teenager. She was going to make mistakes. All that mattered was that she knew all punishments came from love.

* * *

The next morning, Mary woke up later than usual and found David bringing breakfast from Granny’s. She went back up and knocked on Emma’s door.

 

“Emma?” There was no response. “Sweets, it’s time we had a talk. I know we were all riled up last night…” She opened the door and found Emma’s bed empty, the window open. Panic filled her, as she threw open the closet. Emma’s suitcase was gone, along with her baby blanket. She ran down the stairs, tears in her eyes.

 

“David, she’s gone!”

His head snapped up. “What?”

“Her bed’s empty and her suitcase is gone!”

 

 


	7. Finding Emma

_The Night Before_

Emma laid in her bed, still clutching her baby blanket. It had been hours and no one had been in to check on her. She knew they wouldn’t. They were so disappointed in her. She knew what would come after this grounding…they’d have her social worker take her away. She kicked the covers away and got out of bed, pulling out her suitcase. She pulled out two of her old outfits, the ones she had brought and packed them up, changing into the other old one. She didn’t feel like she deserved the other ones. Even her red leather jacket, she kept on her desk chair. It would mean she’d have no coat, but she didn’t care.

 

 After folding up her baby blanket and tucking it in with her few belongings, she opened the window and scaled the drain pipe, being super careful not to fall. Once her feet reached the ground, she looked back at the house, the place she had called her home for the past month. Sleeping inside were the people she had found the courage to call “Mom” and “Dad”. The social worker would find them another kid, a better kid. Maybe a baby they could raise so she wouldn’t screw things up.

 

She pulled out her phone and downloaded a bus application. She knew they’d probably turn the phone off soon, but she’d need it for as long as possible. Her face fell when she realized that no busses going to anywhere far away would be coming through Storybrooke until 10 AM the next morning. She sighed and decided to head to the beach, she would just wait it out there.

 

_Present_

“What do you mean her suitcase is gone?” David asked his Mary.

“Just what I said, David!” Her heart felt heavy in her chest. “Even her blanket is gone. But her jacket’s still there.”

“It’s freezing out!”

“We have to find her.”

He walked over to his wife and put his arms around her. She buried her head in his shoulder. “We’re going to, don’t worry.”

“I should’ve checked on her last night, talked to her!”

“Mary…”

“Why did I wait until now? We never punished her before. After all she’s been through…I should’ve gone in and at least said goodnight!”

David bit his lip, feeling the same guilt. It was the first night he hadn’t even told Emma he loved her before she went to sleep. “I know, I know. We were just upset. But we’ll find her and we’ll make it better.”

 

While Mary dressed, David called the station and asked them to send someone out to go looking, that he would be down there himself in a bit.

 

“Mary, I’m going to go looking for her.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No, stay here in case she comes home.”

“Alright. I called Granny and Mal while I was getting ready, Lily and Ruby haven’t seen her since last night.”

He kissed her quickly. “I’ll go find her.”

 

He headed out the door and down to the station. Graham was hanging up the phone just as he did.

 

“Anything?” David asked.

“No, I have Leroy out looking but it seems no one has seen her.”

David nodded, trying not to panic even more as he ran his fingers through his hair. “O…okay.”

“We’ll find her David, don’t worry. Do you have any idea why she would run away?”

“She lied to us, so we grounded her.”

“Well that seems like typical parent stuff.”

“I know. I just want to find her so I can hug her and then never let her out of my sight ever again.” He glanced out the window and saw it had begun to rain. He just hoped they’d find her soon.

* * *

Emma sat on the beach, staring down at her suitcase. It was 8 AM, she had a couple hours until the bus would come. She had enough money for a bus ticket to at least a neighboring town. She figured she could figure something out to get her further. Maybe even sell her phone, she wouldn’t need it much longer anyway. Her long term plan was Florida. It was sunny and she could start her life over.

 

It was raining by this point and she had no protection. All the clothes she had with her were for late summer. She was freezing and in a way regretted not even bringing her leather jacket. On the other hand, she didn’t feel like it was really hers anyway. She folded her arms across her chest, trying to warm up a little. That’s when she saw bright taillights heading towards her spot. She hopped up and tried walking away, but then she heard a voice.

 

“Emma!” She turned around to see Graham standing there. She had met him when David brought her to the station one day. He was standing by the cruiser, in full uniform. “Finally.”

“Just leave me alone!”

“Your parents are worried sick.”

“I doubt that.”

“They have pretty much everyone in Storybrooke looking for you.” He noticed what she was wearing and removed his jacket, draping it around her shoulders. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“I don’t have a home.”

“Yes, you do. Let’s go.”

 

Emma bit her lip. In her mind, they were just going to send her back. What was the point in going back to the people she had hurt?

 

“Emma, you may only be thirteen, but you are a runaway and I would hate to have to arrest you and then your parents can just pick you up that way.”

Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.”

“You don’t wanna test me.”

 

She sighed and walked over to the passenger side, getting in. The officer got in as well and drove off. He leaned over and turned up the heat when he noticed her teeth chattering. She was soaking wet and shaking. No words were exchanged between the two, but Graham did make a call into the station to let David know that he had found her and that he was taking her back to the house. He cut the engine and glanced over to her. She looked so scared.

 

“They really are just worried, Em.”

“No. They hate me.”

“If they hated you, would they go looking for you?”

“If they lost me, my social worker would kill them.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think you realize just how loved you are, kid.”

 

Emma shrugged off his jacket and reluctantly got out of the car, following him up the steps. The officer couldn’t even knock on the door before it swung open and David stood there. Emma looked up in his eyes, expecting anger, but instead she just saw worry and sadness. He let out a huge sigh of relief and swept Emma into his arms, hugging her tight. She was shocked, but hugged him back.

 

“Oh my God, Princess,” he whispered. “I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again.”

 

Guilt filled her. She had only made things worse.

 

Still keeping a grip on his little girl, he thanked Graham and lead her inside. He kept kissing her head and tightening his hold on her. Once they got to the living room, she saw her mother. She head tears streaming down her face. More guilt filled her. She had made her mom cry.

 

“Come here, sweets.” She managed to pry the young girl from her father’s arms and hugged her tight. “If you scare me like that again, I’ll never let you leave my sight.”

“That sounds pretty tempting right about now,” David muttered.

“I…I…” Emma couldn’t even finish the last sentence. She just buried her head in Mary’s shoulder, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Come on, we need to get you into some dry clothes.” She kept her arms around her and lead her upstairs. But they didn’t go into Emma’s room, they went into Mary and David’s. Mary had a pair of Emma’s sweats out along with one of David’s long sleeved flannel shirts. They figured she’d need it to stay extra warm. “You can go get changed in my bathroom, I put some clean underwear in there too.”

 

She slowly nodded and headed into the bathroom, stripping off her wet clothes and putting on the warm ones. David’s shirt went down past her knees, but it was warm. She headed out into the bedroom, holding her wet clothes. Mary simply threw them on top of her hamper and lead her back downstairs where David was setting hot chocolate down on the coffee table.

 

“Sit,” Mary pointed to the couch and the blonde nodded, sitting down. “Alright, can you please tell us why you ran away?”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Thank you, but that’s not an answer.”

“I guess…” Emma bit her lip. “I thought if I left on my own, it’d be easier than you two kicking me out.”

“Why would you think we were kicking you out?” David asked.

“Because I lied to you…and you…you said you were disappointed in me.”

Mary sighed and sat beside her. “Yes Emma, we were. But that’s because we know the girl you are and the Emma we know wouldn’t do something like this.”

“You’ve only known me a month.”

“True. So are you saying this is who you are?”

“No! I just…things never work out for me. I always do something to be sent back, whether I need to or not.”

“Emma,” David spoke up. “What did I tell you the day you asked me if I wanted to send you back?”

“That they’d have to pry me from your arms.”

“What changed, then?”

“Because I…I can’t control nightmares. But I can control my actions and I…”

“You made a mistake.”

“Sweets,” Mary said. “You’re our daughter. We love you and nothing’s going to change that. This is your home.”

“But you said…”

“We were disappointed, yes. In fact, we still are, but that’s because we love you. If we really didn’t care, we wouldn’t be disappointed. Parents love their child, even when they mess up.”

“You still love me?”

Mary looked down into her green eyes. She was seeing that lost little girl again. “Yes, very, very much.”

“Just because we punish you doesn’t mean anything different,” David said softly, sitting beside his daughter.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I’m really sorry. For everything.”

“It’s not okay, but you’re forgiven,” he said.

“You shouldn’t forgive me. You should just kick me out and get a better daughter.”

“Hey, you are the best daughter you could ask for.”

“But I…”

“Every kid messes up. It’s a part of life. All that matters is that you learn from it.”

Mary pulled her into her arms and Emma wrapped her arms around her, tightly. “We love you, sweets.”

“I love you too.”

David joined the hug, kissing her head. “You’ll always be our little girl.”

 

After a while, David broke away, but Emma stayed in Mary’s arms. He smiled at them and stroked Emma’s cheek and noticed she was still shaking a bit.

  
“Here, drink this,” he handed her the warm cup of hot chocolate and she slowly sipped it.

“David, can you go get a towel? I’ll dry her hair,” Mary said.

“I can dry my own hair,” Emma mumbled.

“You’re gonna get out of my arms to do it?” Emma didn’t move and the brunette chuckled. “Grab her brush too.”

“On it.”

 

When he returned, Emma was still curled up with her mother, sipping the cocoa. He handed Mary the towel and brush and she did the young girl’s hair. Emma didn’t move, she finally felt safe again.

 

“Emma,” David said and she looked up at him. “If you ever feel like this again, you have to tell us.”

“You really worried us today,” Mary told her softly. “We were so scared we’d never see you again or that you were hurt.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, looking guilty again.

“We know. But this can’t happen again.”

“It won’t.” She was partially fibbing. She knew running was what she did best. She didn’t like having conversations like this, they just made her feel terrible inside. But she also knew she didn’t have much of a choice. These people seemed to like to talk about everything. “Am I in more trouble for running away?”

David sighed. “No. I think your mother and I were partially responsible for not checking on you last night.”

“What were you even going to do?” Mary asked. Emma bit her lip, but didn’t respond. “Emma.”

She shrugged. “Does it really matter? Graham found me before I could.”

“Were you…were you going to hurt yourself?” Mary almost didn’t want to know the answer; her heart was breaking for her daughter.

“No! Nothing like that. I was just going to use the little money I had to buy a bus ticket out of here and then sell my phone to get another to get further down the coast.”

“Alright, well now we’re taking away your allowance.”

“Mommy!”

Mary bit her lip, to suppress a smile. That was the first time Emma had called her “Mommy”, not just “Mom”. She went back to brushing the girl’s hair. “You obviously can’t be trusted with it.”

“I promised not to run away again.”

“Yes, but like we said, you did lose our trust.”

“Can I get it back?”

“Of course.”

“How?”

“It’ll take time.”

 

She nodded and went back to sipping her hot chocolate. Mary finished doing her hair and kissed her head, noticing the bags under the girl’s eyes.

 

“Did you sleep last night?” Emma shook her head. “Alright, then head upstairs and take a nap.”

She blushed. “I’m thirteen.”

“You need to nap, come on, I’ll tuck you in.” She helped Emma up and steered her upstairs by the shoulders. She opened up Emma’s suitcase and looked at the contents inside. “You brought your old clothes?”

“I didn’t think I deserved any of my new stuff. It’s why I didn’t bring my jacket.”

“Oh Emma.” She sighed and took out the baby blanket, watching her get under the covers. The brunette pulled the sheets and comforter up to her chin, placing the baby blanket over them, giving Emma’s forehead another kiss.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, sweets?”

“Lay with me?”

Mary smiled. “Sure.” She laid down beside her and Emma snuggled up against her chest, her eyes soon falling heavy, falling asleep not long after that. The brunette looked down at her daughter, stroking her blonde locks. She never wanted to let her angel go again. She was so thankful Graham had caught her before she was able to take the bus out. Her own eyes closed and she decided that she, too, could use a nap.

 

Mary awoke a few hours later and saw that Emma was still asleep. She grinned and stroked her cheek, only to pull away a little. Her cheek was warm. She placed her hand to the girl’s forehead, she was burning up, causing a sigh to escape the mother’s lips.

 

“Oh Emma,” she whispered. She managed to pry Emma off of her without waking her up and headed across the hall to her room. She was digging out her first aid kit when she heard David’s voice.

“Finally awake Sleeping Beauty?”

She giggled. “I am, your other princess is still sleeping, but I think she’s sick.”

Panic filled David for the second time that day. “What hurts? Is she throwing up?”

“No throw up, but I don’t know what hurts. She just definitely has a fever.”

“Probably from being out in the rain, especially with no jacket. We should call the doctor.”

“Let me just get her temperature and find out if anything hurts. If she has a cold, there’s no use dragging her out in this weather.”

They both soon heard their baby calling from across the hall. “Mommy?”

David smiled. “I think our angel needs you.”

“I think she needs both of us, come on.”

 

They walked back to Emma’s room and found her sitting up in bed.

 

“I woke up and you weren’t here…” she muttered, feeling a little embarrassed. Her voice was a little raspy.

“Sorry baby, I woke up and you had a fever. I wanted to check your temperature.” She turned the thermometer on and rolled it across her forehead. A moment later it beeped and 103.0 flashed across the screen. “Oh sweets. Does anything hurt?”

“My throat.”

“Here, let’s get you some medicine.” She poured it out into the cup and held it out. Emma shook her head. “Emma.” She didn’t open. “Do I need to feed this to you or are you going to be a big girl?”

The teen blushed and grabbed it, downing it quickly before making a face. “Not fair.”

Mary chuckled. “Whatever you say.”

“Should we take her to the doctor?” David asked.

“Let’s wait and see if she gets any better.”

“I’m fine,” Emma said.

“You’re not fine,” David told her.

“I am, seriously.”

“You’re staying in bed,” Mary said, firmly. “I’ll go make you lunch.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You didn’t eat dinner last night or breakfast this morning.”

“Dad gave me hot chocolate.”

The brunette rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t count. David, stay with her and make sure she doesn’t escape.” She kissed his cheek and walked out of the room. David sat on his daughter’s bed and stroked her hair. She looked super adorable in his shirt, it was really way too big for her.

“Why are you smiling like that?” She asked.

“You just look so cute.”

“I do not.”

“You do. You’re swimming in that shirt.”

“Mom made me wear it.”

“It’s probably a lot warmer than most of your clothes.”

“Do you have to work today?”

“Nope. You’re stuck with me.”

“Yay,” Emma said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, but she was also smirking.

David cocked an eyebrow. “Does someone need a visit from the tickle monster?”

“No.”

“Oh, really young lady?”

“Yes, old man.”

“Old man? I’m twenty-eight!”

“Still old.”

“Okay, that’s it.” He started tickling her and she began giggling.

“Daddy!”

“Say I’m the best daddy in the whole world!”

“David!” The two looked up and saw Mary standing there holding a tray. “Don’t tickle her when she’s sick, what if she threw up?”

“Her stomach’s fine, Mary.”

She shook her head and set the tray in front of Emma, which contained some reheated soup and crackers. “We don’t know that.”

“Can you two not argue about me like I’m not sitting right here? I’m fine.”

“Whatever you say sweetheart, eat.”

She sighed and poked at the food. “I’m really not that hungry.”

“You need to eat just a little, please. It could help you feel better.”

“You just said that Dad tickling me could make me throw up, this could.”

Mary let out an irritated sigh, this girl was so stubborn. “Or you could throw up without eating.” Emma and her mom had a stare down for about two minutes before picking up the spoon and taking a bite. “That’s a good girl.”

She rolled her eyes. “Daddy, get Mom to be less annoying.”

“I’ve been trying to do that for years, Princess. Not gonna happen.”

“Hey! No tag teaming against me!” Mary exclaimed.

“I have a partner in crime now,” David replied with a smile, causing Emma to smile too.

“Such a Daddy’s girl,” Mary muttered with a grin of her own. She was only pretending to be upset. This was what she had always wanted.

 

Emma ate half of her soup, which her mother accepted as acceptable and she was able to convince the two to go eat something of their own. She wasn’t used to people completely fussing over her, so it was nice to have a small break. She couldn’t believe they were being so nice to her after how she had treated them in the past 24 hours.

 

It didn’t last long though and soon they were back up, Mary holding a cup of tea.

 

“You guys really don’t have to stay with me,” Emma told them.

“We have to take care of you, you’re sick,” David said.

“No one’s taken care of me before.”

“I’m sure when you were sick…” Mary started but got cut off.

“We just got told to stay in our rooms and were told where the Tylenol was.”

The brunette’s face fell. “Oh, sweets.” She stroked her hair.

“It’s fine, seriously.”

“You know if you ever want to talk about…”

“I don’t,” she replied, her voice sharp and then felt guilty for being so mean. “Sorry…I just don’t like talking about it.”

“That’s okay, Princess,” David cooed softly, kissing her forehead. “Just know that we’re here.”

* * *

The day passed by rather uneventfully. Emma’s fever went down a bit and she found she had no trouble sleeping. Mary and David stayed with her the entire time. The next day was more of the same, though her fever went down more. She ended up going to the doctor and found out she had an ear infection, which just lead to more bedrest.

 

She woke up Monday morning and found herself in their bed. She knew she should be embarrassed, she wasn’t a baby, but it made her happy. She rolled over and looked at the clock. It was only 6 AM. She was still in her clothes from the night before and felt gross, so she managed to climb out of David’s grip and sneak out of the room. She stripped down and showered before getting dressed in real clothes. Her throat didn’t hurt anymore, but she did feel a little dizzy. She headed downstairs and grabbed orange juice from the fridge.

 

Pretty soon, Mary Margaret and David came down, dressed and ready for the day.

 

“Morning baby,” David said, kissing her head. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” she fibbed.

“Oh really?” Mary pulled out the thermometer. “Let’s check.”

“Mommy…”

She rolled the thermometer over her forehead. “100 on the nose.’

“So it’s gone down.”

“No school today.”

“I have track practice!”

“Well you’ll have to miss it.”

David started to pour his coffee. “Mary, I agree she shouldn’t go to school, but I do have to go to the station today.”

“I can stay home alone,” Emma said.

“Maybe you could bring her with you?” Mary asked.

“Sure, we have a couch she can relax on.”

“Is no one listening to me?” Emma asked with a pout.

“Of course we’re listening, Princess. We’re just not going to leave you alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Emma’s spending the day at the station with her daddy. How will that go?


	8. A Woman’s Touch

After breakfast, Mary made sure that Emma would be bundled up and ready to go. The blonde allowed her mother to fuss over her, only slightly rolling her eyes as she did. It was nice to have someone who cared, so letting her mom baby her a little got a pass.

 

Mary handed David a backpack. “I put lunch for you two in there and her medicine.”

“I got this, baby,” David told her.

“I don’t want to leave her.” She frowned. “She needs me.”

“She’ll be fine. It’s just for a few hours.”

“Call me if her fever gets worse or if she throws up…”

“I will, I will. Don’t you trust me?”

“Oh, David,” she put a hand on his cheek. “Of course I do, it’s just a mom thing.”

“She’ll be fine. You’ll pick her up after work and then you can go back to coddling her.”

Mary cocked an eyebrow. “I do not coddle her.”

“Yeah, you do.” He smiled. “But it’s sweet.”

“I can’t wait until she starts dating,” Marry muttered, with a smirk.

David turned pale. “That’s not happening until she’s 42.”

His wife laughed and kissed him. “Whatever you say, dear.”

“I’m serious, Mary Margaret.”

“Serious about what?” Emma asked as she walked in the room.

“You’re not dating until you’re in your forties. Maybe fifties,” David said.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say.”

Mary hugged Emma and kissed her head. “Text me if you need anything, baby.”

“I will. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, sweets.”

 

She walked out the door and Emma grabbed her purse.

  
“Ready to go, Princess?”

“I guess. I really could stay home alone.”

“What if you threw up or something else happened?”

“I’d take care of myself?”

“Nuh uh.”

 

Emma pouted and followed him out the door to his truck. Soon they were at the station. Emma had been there before, though she didn’t stay very long. David lead her over to a leather couch and had her lay down.

 

“I’ll be over there doing some paperwork,” he kissed her forehead and walked over. She sighed and took out her phone, playing Candy Crush. A little bit later, David glanced over and saw her. She was supposed to be grounded. “Emma, put the phone away.”

“But I’m bored!”

“I know, but you’re grounded.” Emma sighed and put it away, pulling out one of her books. “Good girl.”

 

Some time passed and the station got a few calls, but nothing to leave for. They had no one in the cells that day either, so outside the two flipping through pages, there wasn’t much noise. Since her dad was busy, she pulled her phone back out and began to play again. Without even looking up, David knew what she was doing. He got up and walked over, plucking her phone out of her hands.

 

“Dad!”

“You’ll get this back later.”

“What if I need to talk to Mom?”

“Then ask me for it back.” He headed back to his desk and she reluctantly returned to her book.

 

Emma felt her stomach begin to hurt after about an hour, which was a little weird. It had been fine yesterday. She didn’t want to bother David about it though.

 

“Daddy? Where’s the bathroom?”

“Right there.” He pointed to it and she got up, heading in there. He returned to his paperwork and soon noticed that it had been awhile. He got up and knocked on the door. “Emma? Are you okay in there?”

“I’m fine.”

“Princess. Did you get sick?”

“I think you would’ve heard that.”

“Well what’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Emma.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Did you have an accident?”

“No!”

“Then what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing!”

“Emma,” he said in a warning voice. “Don’t raise your voice at me.”

She opened the door, a frown on her face and her sweatshirt tied around her waist. “Please just let it go.”

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I can’t tell you. I need Mom.”

“Well Mom’s teaching right now. Whatever it is, I’m sure I can help.”

Emma sighed in frustration. “I got my period!”

 

David’s eyes widened. This was the part of fatherhood he wasn’t ready for. He hadn’t thought much about it, honestly. He wasn’t sure if Emma had gotten hers yet, it wasn’t exactly a conversation he wanted to have with her. He assumed that Mary would cover it.

 

“Oh…okay…”

“Now do you see why I didn’t tell you?”

“Yes. Well uh…do you have uh…” He wasn’t sure exactly what she would want. He was used to buying Mary pads, but the aisles were filled with other products.

“No.” She was beet red. “We can just forget about it until Mom picks me up.”

David sighed. “No, we’ll handle it now.” He wanted his daughter to be comfortable coming to him for all things and this fell under it.

“But the station…”

 

At that moment, Graham walked in, ready for his shift.

 

“Graham, can you cover for me here? I have to take Emma somewhere.”

“Sure thing. Feeling any better, Em?”

“Not really,” she muttered.

 

David grabbed his keys and lead her outside. They walked to the supermarket and over to the aisle in question. Emma’s mind was spinning. She had been dreading this day ever since she found out it was inevitable coming. Since moving in with her parents, she had hoped she’d be with Mary when it happened. She didn’t want her dad to know, at all.

 

“Well uh, here’s everything,” David said. He was trying so hard to be cool, Emma could tell. But she also knew he was freaking out inside. “See, they have pads…with and without wings…” He saw Emma’s face freak out even more. “Or uh, tampons. Your mother doesn’t use these but…”

Suddenly, a clerk walked over to them. It wasn’t somebody that Emma recognized, but she seemed to know David. “Can I help you?”

“No,” Emma started to mutter.

“My little girl, uh…I mean, my daughter,” David stuttered out, causing Emma to blush harder.

 _He is not about to ask this random lady for help picking these out!_ She thought to herself.

“She seems to have gotten her…Oh God.”

The clerk chuckled. “It’s quite alright.” She turned to Emma. “First time?” All the blonde could do was nod. “Alright, well you play sports right? My sister’s on the track team, I think I’ve seen you.” Again, all she could do was nod. “She uses these.” She held up a green box of tampons.

Emma practically snatched them out of her hands. “Sounds great, thanks.” _Is she going to tell her sister about this?_ She looked up at her dad. “Can we go, Dad? Please.”

“Yes, thank you Cara.”

“No problem, have a great one guys.”

 

The checkout was speedy and they were soon back at the station. Luckily, since David had Emma’s school backpack, it had her backup clothes for gym. She went into the bathroom again and looked at the box. Never in her whole life had she wanted a mother more. She couldn’t call Mary at school over this, though. Thankfully, there were instructions and Emma seemed to do it with no issue. She changed her underwear and threw her jeans into the bag, putting on her black workout pants. After washing her hands, she headed back out to her dad. He stood there, staring at her.

 

“Uh…” She wasn’t sure what to say. “Where’s Graham?”

“He went to patrol, tickets and all that.”

“’Kay…” She sat back down on the couch.

David pulled out the lunch that Mary Margaret had packed. “Hungry?”

“Not really.”

“Well it’s here if you want it.” More silence. “Do you have questions?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “You wanna answer questions about my reproductive cycle?” He made a face and she giggled. “Thought so.”

“I’m sorry this is so awkward.”

Emma shrugged. “It’s not your fault.”

“Well, you should take some medicine.”

“Dad.”

He walked over and felt her forehead. She wasn’t as warm as before, but was still a tad. He got it out and handed it to her, she reluctantly took it, afraid he’d follow through on Mary’s threat to feed it to her. He went back to his work and she returned to her book, though eventually her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

 

She woke up an hour later, finding Graham at the desk.

 

“Where’s my dad?” She asked as she sat up, yawning.

“He went out for a minute.”

“Okay.” She reached down to pick up her book again when her dad came walking in, holding a tray with two Styrofoam cups and a takeout bag. Graham stood up and nodded before walking out. “Was he seriously watching me?”

“Just in case you woke up while I was gone.” He handed her the cup and then reached into the bag, holding up a plastic takeout box. Inside was a piece of chocolate cake.

Emma smiled. “What’s this?”

“Whenever your mom uh…you know…she always wants chocolate.”

She stood up and threw her arms around his waist. He smiled and set everything down, hugging her back, kissing her head. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Just don’t tell your mom that you had chocolate cake for lunch.”

Emma giggled. “Deal.”

 

She sat down and started to eat the cake, while David had his.

 

“How’s your tummy?” He asked her.

She blushed a little. “It’s better. The medicine helped, I think.”

“See, I know what I’m talking about.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“We have a few more hours until your mom picks you up.”

“I know.” She got a glimmer of glee in her eyes. “Hey can I…”

“Whatever it is, no.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“Fine, go. But from that look, I bet I’ll say no.”

“Can you teach me how to shoot a gun?”

“Yeah, no.”

“But Dad!”

“One, you’re too young. Two, even when you’re not, your mom would kill me.”

“Mom offered to teach me how to shoot a bow and arrow.”

“Oh, did she now?”

“Yup. So I think it’s only fair,” she smirked as she sipped her hot chocolate.

David made a beeping noise. “Nope, next.”

“Fine.” She picked at the top of her cup. “Tell me more about you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know who you are now, but what were you like as a kid?”

He laughed. “You want to know all that?”

“Well, yeah. You’re my dad.”

“Alright.” He set his hot chocolate down. “I was born on a farm in Pembroke.”

“A farm, really? With animals and stuff?”

“Yup.”

“That’s so cool.”

“I didn’t think it when I was young, but I grew to appreciate it. I had my own horse, Camelot.”

She giggled. “You named your horse, Camelot?”

“Sure did.” He smiled. “There was a lot of work to be done, I didn’t have much time to hang out with friends until high school.”

“Do you have any siblings?” She watched his smile fade. “Forget I asked.”

“No, it’s fine. I had an identical twin brother, James. But he died in a tractor accident when we were fifteen.”

Emma’s face fell. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay, it was so long ago. But it did hurt my parents, they ended up splitting up, so I stayed behind with my mother. Though she eventually pushed me to go to college.” He laughed at the memory. “She packed my bags and told me she had enrolled me in U of Maine, got me a scholarship too.”

“Seems like she had it all figured out.”

“She was very, very strong willed. The one person outside your mother I probably feared in a good way.” He sipped his cocoa. “She passed right after Mary and I got married.”

“That’s awful.”

“It was, but she lived a great life. You would’ve liked her, you’re a lot alike.”

She smiled. “Really?”

“Yeah. She would’ve loved you, she always wanted a grandbaby. In fact, the first night she met your mom, it was all she could talk about. Kind of embarrassing.”

“So that’s where you get it from,” Emma said with a giggle, causing her father to roll his eyes. “How’d you meet Mom?”

David chuckled. “We were both freshmen in college and I was at my very first big city party. Your mom grew up here in Storybrooke, so it was a change for her too. There was this guy trying to get her to dance with him…”

**Ten Years Ago**

_“I said no thank you,” the young brunette told the six foot tall frat boy in front of her._

_“Just one dance.” He ran his meaty fingers over her dress. Before she could move, David was at her side._

_“Hey babe, thanks for keeping my drink safe,” he said with a grin. Mary looked confused for a minute but then it dawned on her._

_“It’s no trouble at all, sweetie.” She kissed his cheek._

_The frat boy rolled his eyes. “Tease,” he muttered under his breath as he walked off._

_“You know, I was handling that just fine,” Mary said, putting her hands on her hips._

_“I believe you should be thanking me.”_

_“I’m not looking for a prince charming or anything. I can rescue myself.”_

_“Uh huh, sure Princess.”_

_She rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me that.”_

_“Whatever…Princess.” She glared harder at him. “I’m David, by the way.”_

_“Oh really, I thought it’d be pain in the ass.”_

_“Now’s the part where you say your name.”_

_She poked out her tongue. “Mary Margaret, but I go by Mary.”_

_“Well, how about we go talk outside. I promise you can go on your feminist, I don’t need a man rant out there.”_

_“Are you mocking me?”_

_“No, I just think it’s hot when a girl can hold her own.”_

_“Yet you interrupted that.”_

_“What can I say…I like saving people. I’m going to be a cop after all.”_

_“Cop, eh?” She looked him up and down. “I could picture you in uniform…may actually make you more attractive.”_

_He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you saying you find me attractive, miss?”_

_“Don’t let it go to your head.” She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. After a moment, she turned around. “You coming?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“You said you wanted to go outside. Geez Charming, it’s not polite to leave a princess waiting.” She smirked._

**Present**

Emma was grinning by the end of the story. “Mom was a badass.”

“Language.” The blonde rolled her eyes. “But yes, she was. She still is, too. We dated throughout college and then got married after we graduated. After my mother passed, we sold the farm and moved here to Storybrooke and got jobs.”

“And now you’re the sheriff.”

“I got lucky. The old one retired not long after I started working but he felt I was the most qualified. Your mom and I took that as a sign it was time to start a family.”

 

The room fell quiet. Emma didn’t like thinking about the fact that her mom couldn’t have children biologically. She also felt guilty for in a way being glad she couldn’t…if she did, she wouldn’t have her family.

 

“And now we have one,” David said, kissing her head.

“Not what you expected, though.”

“Better. Plus, it helps there are no diaper changes or late night feedings.”

She rolled her eyes. “Dork.”

* * *

Mary walked into the station around three, not sure what to expect. She found Emma sitting next to David, looking at files. She smiled and walked over to them.

  
“There’s my two favorite people.”

Emma looked up and smiled at her, kissing her cheek. “Hi Mommy.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

The brunette glanced at the files, trying to read if they were inappropriate, but David took her hand. “They’re just traffic stops.”

“Good.”

“I should go to the bathroom,” Emma muttered, walking to the back.

“So, is she doing better?”

“Yeah, her fever broke and she took medicine. But uh…something else happened.” Mary cocked an eyebrow. “She uh…got that, you know…girl thing.”

Mary’s eyes widened. Her little girl had gotten her period! Her first period and she wasn’t there. “Is she okay? Was she scared? Oh God, David what did you…”

“Relax, I handled it. I can’t say I did it perfectly, but we went to the market and got her…coverage.” He couldn’t say tampons out loud. “She’s fine with it.”

“Oh my baby. I wish I was there.”

“I don’t think there’s much you could’ve done.”

“Still, a mother should be there for her daughter during that.”

“Well you can now, she didn’t really want to talk about it with me.”

“I’ll talk to her. There are things that come with this…”

“Things daddies don’t need to know about.”

“Precisely.” She kissed his lips. “What else did you guys do?”

“I told her about my childhood and how we met.”

“The G-Rated version, I hope.”

“No Mary, I told her that I gave you your first hickey behind the frat house,” he rolled his eyes. “It was about PG.”

“Well that’s sweet.” She kissed him. “I’m very partial to that story.”

“Of course, you’re the badass in it.”

“How come you can say that word but I can’t?” Emma asked as she came back over to them.

“I shouldn’t have. Sorry.” He got up and kissed her forehead.

Mary hugged her tight. “Oh my baby.”

Emma looked over at her dad. “You told her?”

“Sorry Princess.” He shrugged.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Mary asked, cupping her face.

“Not particularly, but I have a feeling you won’t let me get out of it like Dad.”

“You’d be correct.” She kissed her forehead.

Emma turned to David. “Thanks for today, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome Princess. I’ll be home soon.”

“How much longer?” She suddenly didn’t want to leave.

“Just a couple of hours. Go home with your mother.” He leaned over and kissed Mary.

She made a face. “Gross, just gross.”

“You said our story was sweet,” David said.

“Yeah, but I don’t need reenactments.” The couple exchanged a look and then kissed again, causing the blonde to fake a gag. “You guys are going to make me sick again.”

“So dramatic,” Mary said with a chuckle. She grabbed Emma’s stuff and they headed out to her car. She was quiet for a bit but then started talking. “So, I’m assuming you know what this means?”

“Yes, I saw the video in 5th grade.”

Mary thought about how her own students would be watching that soon. “Alright. But you know that if you do…”

“Mom I’m not going to have sex!”

“Not now, but eventually…”

“Eventually, I’ll be safe. Or I’ll stay a virgin for life. Maybe become a nun. Anything to not have this talk.”

Mary smiled softly. “Just know there’s nothing you can’t talk to me about.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Anything for you, sweets.” She turned on her blinker to turn. “How red did your dad get in the store?”

“He matched my jacket.”

She chuckled. “Of course. Mention that whole nun thing to him, I think it’d make him very happy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a shorter chapter, but I wanted to end it there. Emma had an exciting day at the station. I promise to have some more Mama Snow moments as well. I just have a huge soft spot for Daddy Charming. More drama to come soon as well.


	9. Old Habits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with some heavy stuff. If self-harm is a trigger for you, I’d recommend you skip it. There’s also some foul language, which I wouldn’t put on the same level as self-harm, but if you’re not a fan of cursing, you’ve been warned.

Emma tossed back and forth in her sleep. This time the nightmare was a little different…

 

_Emma walked through the door of the house and into the living room. David and Mary Margaret stood there, sullen looks on their faces._

_“Mom? Dad? What’s wrong?”_

_“Sit down,” David said. His voice was stone cold. She raised an eyebrow, but sat down on the love seat._

_“Emma,” Mary spoke up, her voice as cold as David’s. “We just can’t do this anymore.”_

_“Do…do what?” She looked back and forth between them._

_“We can’t be your parents anymore. It’s just too much work. Between the nightmares and the lying…plus you being sick…it’s all just too much for us,” Mary explained._

_Tears sprung to Emma’s eyes. “I’ll…I’ll be better. I promise!”_

_“It’s too late.” There was suddenly the sound of a doorbell ringing. “That’d be your new parents.” She walked off and Emma looked up at David._

_“Daddy, please,” she begged._

_“I am not your daddy, Emma, I wish you never called me that to begin with.”_

_“Hello, Emma.”_

_Her head snapped up and she gasped. There stood her biological parents. Her birth mom looked strung out on drugs, wearing a tube top and mini-skirt. Beside her, her biological father was in grimy clothes, that sick smile on his face. She inched away._

_“No…no!”_

_“You know this is where you belong, Emma,” the man said, taking a step towards her. “Don’t you want to be a good girl?”_

 

Emma sat up in bed, panting heavily. She looked around her room, realizing she was still there, she was at home. She got out of bed and crept down the hall, slowly opening the door to her parents’ room. They were still fast asleep.

 

“Just a dream,” she whispered.

 

Deep down, she knew that it was all it was. Her biological mother was dead. Her biological father had lost his rights. Her parents were never going to send her back and yet…

 

She found herself walking into the bathroom and searching through her cabinets. Finally, she found her razor. She took the blade out and took a deep breath, staring down at her arms. Most of her old ones had faded. She hadn’t cut in over two years, not since she was caught by her then foster mother. She reported it but nothing was ever done about it. She quit, because she knew that it wasn’t going to help things.

 

And yet now, she had the urge to do so. Back when she cut, it brought her such relief. It took the pain away from her memories and focused it on something new. She dragged the razor across her arm, being careful not to go too deep, doing the same with her other arm. She remembered her dad and all the times he did those sick things to her. She remembered crying every night for a family, any family. She thought about hurting the only real parents she ever had. Tears were streaming down her face, not by the pain. This didn’t hurt her anymore, no.  But the memories did, the regret seared worse. By the time it was done, there were lines of bleeding on both. She grabbed some toilet paper and wiped it off, thanking herself that it was fall so she could wear sleeves the next day.

 

She threw out the razor and headed back to bed, her mind still spinning. She began to regret what she had just done.

 

_What if they find out? Oh my God, they’re going to freak out. What if they really do send me back? Or if they get mad at me again?_

 

She pulled deeper down on the sleeves to her pajama top. She didn’t realize it, but her crying was becoming louder and her breathing was uneven. She was having a panic attack. Her door swung open and Mary ran in, sitting on her bed.

 

“Emma?” She sat the girl up. “Sweets, breathe, come on. Breathe for me.”

Emma shook her head, the tears falling faster. “I…I…I can’t,” she choked out.

“Yes you can, come on, just try,” Her mother stroked her cheek.

The blonde managed to take a deep breath, then another and another. Finally, the attack was over, but tears were still streaming down her face. Mary pulled her onto her lap and held her close. “Sweetheart, please, tell me what’s wrong.” She shook her head violently. “Yes, did you have a nightmare?” Emma sniffled and nodded. “Tell me what it was about.”

 

She knew if she told her, it’d just lead to a long speech.

 

“No,” Emma whispered.

“Please, Emma…”

“I said NO!” She screamed, pushing her mother away and siting on the bed, drawing her legs to her chest.

Mary looked at her in shock. “Emma, I know you’re upset, but please do not raise your voice at me.”

“Just leave me alone! I…I don’t want you!” It was a lie. All of it was lies. She wanted her mother, so badly. But she felt she couldn’t risk her finding her arms or knowing about her nightmare.

The brunette felt her heart break and some tears sprung to her eyes. “O…okay.” She stood up, not sure if she should really leave. Emma didn’t want her there, but she was obviously clearly upset. “I can’t…I can’t leave you alone when you’re like this Emma.”

“Yes you can!”

“Hey what’s going on?” A sleepy David asked from the doorway. “It’s after midnight.”

“Just leave me alone! Both of you!” _Why are you doing this?_ A voice in her head asked her. _They just care about you!_

“She had a nightmare and a panic attack and now…I don’t know,” Mary whispered.

“Emma, you may be upset, but you need to calm down and stop screaming,” David told her.

“Why are both of you still here?” She threw herself back down on the pillows, her back facing both of them.

“Baby, we care about you, what’s going on?”

“I said leave me alone!”

“And I said no,” David said firmly. Mary looked at him, in shock. She had heard her husband raise his voice to Emma before, when she lied, but this was different now. There was a mix of frustration, exhaustion and worry in his voice.

“I just want to go back to bed.”

“Then we’ll wait with you,” her father told her, sitting on her bed.

“No.”

“Yes. I’m not leaving you alone, I can’t have you do something stupid.” He knew it wasn’t the best word choice, but he blamed the hour and lack of sleep. He had worked a double shift prior to this.

 

 _I can’t have you do something stupid._ The words rung in Emma’s head. Of course he didn’t know what she had done, but it struck a chord. The next words out her mouth were ones she’d later regret, but in the moment, she had to say them.

  
“Fuck you,” she muttered.

Mary gasped and David cocked an eyebrow. Emma had cursed before, not a lot, just a slip when she banged into something or calling something badass. But never had they heard her curse at someone. “Excuse me?”

“I said…Fuck. You,” she made sure to enunciate the final two words so she could be heard.

 

 _What are you doing? You stupid, stupid girl! He just cares about you! You’re being a bitch! He doesn’t even know! He just doesn’t want you to run away again!_  
  


But it was too late. She wasn’t listening to her brain.

 

David looked into her eyes, seeing a look he hadn’t seen on her before. Like she was challenging him. Mary saw it too. For a moment he was speechless and before he could even think of what to say, his wife placed a hand on his shoulder. It was a simple gesture, but he felt her motivation behind it. She knew he needed a hug right now, but they weren’t about to show that to their daughter.

 

“Emma, you will not speak to us that way,” Mary told her sharply. “You’ve just added another week onto your grounding.”

“You have to be kidding me! I wouldn’t have said that if he…” She suddenly stopped.

“If he what?”

“Never mind.” She shut her eyes, hoping they would just go away and leave her with her guilt.

 

The husband and wife exchanged a look. They weren’t sure what to do. Right now, they were both so worked up and worried, but they didn’t want to leave her alone. They were afraid she’d run away again. They also knew deep down, this wasn’t their child. Sure, they’d barely known her two months, but this wasn’t her. Something was deeply wrong.

 

Mary turned to her husband and whispered in his ear, “I’ll stay with her.”

“I’ll stay too.”

“No, you’ve been working, plus I think you two need some space.

“What’s going on with her?”

“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out. Just go get some sleep.”

 

He sighed and kissed her before walking out. The brunette looked down at her daughter, she had fallen back asleep. She crawled in bed beside her and shut her eyes. She wasn’t even mad at this point…just worried.

 

Emma awoke the next morning to find her mother beside her. The events of the previous night came running back. She sucked back a deep breath and got out of the bed. She grabbed a change of clothes and stripped down in her bathroom, running her fingers over her cuts. They were starting to scab over at this point. She sighed and showered before dressing. Mary still wasn’t awake, it was a little early.

 

The blonde headed downstairs and considered heading to school with no word, but knew that’d make things worse, so she scribbled out a note and headed out the door.

 

_You know, if you’re trying to sabotage things, you’re doing a great job._

She ignored what her heart was telling her and simply walked to school. The air was brisk and she was wearing a sweater under her jacket for some extra warmth. Her cheeks were turning pink from the cool air and she crammed her hands into her pockets.

 

She hated herself for how she behaved the previous night. She hated what she had said to her parents. Even if they kept her, they were probably going to hate her for life, at least in her head.

 

She could apologize…but would that really make any of it better?

* * *

Emma didn’t talk much at school, but Lily and Ruby didn’t seem to notice. Their groundings had been lifted, so they were planning something to do for Halloween, which was the following day. Emma was still grounded, with an additional week added on now. She wouldn’t have any plans for quite some time.

 

She didn’t feel much like eating at lunch, so she wandered around the grounds. She wasn’t really paying attention to where she was going and soon found herself in front of the elementary school’s playground. Mary stood with a few of the other teachers, watching the kids play. One of them ran over to Mary, holding a little dandelion out to her. The brunette smiled and accepted it, giving the girl a hug. Emma bit down on her lip and began to walk away. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm. She looked up and met her mother’s eyes. They looked tired and worried.

 

“What are you doing over here?” Mary whispered.

“I just went for a walk. It’s my lunch period,” Emma mumbled.

“You shouldn’t be over here.”

“I know, I was heading back.”

“You shouldn’t have left like that this morning,” she said. “I had no idea if you made it to school okay until the principal said she saw you.”  


Emma didn’t know what to say, a tear escaped down her cheek. Her mother let out a long sigh.

 

“We need to talk this afternoon.”

“I don’t…”

“Last night cannot happen again. I don’t know what was wrong, but you had no right to speak to your father that way.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I’m sure but you can’t…” That’s when Mary saw her daughter was crying.

“I’m really, really sorry,” she said, her voice a little louder. “I know I was terrible, I don’t know why I acted that way.” Her breath hitched. “I shouldn’t have talked to Dad like that. Or you. I’m sorry.” She buried her head in her hands.

Mary wanted to stay upset, but she just couldn’t. Her daughter was breaking down in front of her, so she slowly pulled her into her arms. “Shhh…baby, I’m here.”

“I didn’t mean it when I said I didn’t want you…I do…I’m sorry!”

“Shhh… oh my baby…”

“It’s not okay,” Emma sobbed. “Nothing will make it okay.”

“It’s not okay, but you can fix it.”

“How?”

“Apologize to Daddy like you did me.”

“He won’t forgive me.”

“I bet you he will.”

“Well he shouldn’t! Who forgives someone for flipping out like that?”

“A parent.”

 

Emma sucked back a deep breath and heard a bell ring in the distance. Lunch was over.

 

“I have class,” she whispered.

“I don’t think you’re in any shape to go.”

“You’re going to take me home?”

“I can’t sweets, I can’t get a sub this short notice. But it’s your dad’s day off. He’ll come pick you up.”

“I…I can’t be alone with him.”

“He won’t hurt you.”

 

The blonde remembered to the time when Mary described him as a “big teddy bear”. For some reason, she couldn’t picture her dad like that now. It’s who he was, but she didn’t deserve it. Not after how she treated him.

 

Mary put her arms around her daughter and lead her to the office. She told the secretary that she would call David herself but that her daughter couldn’t handle going back to class in the meantime. She laid a kiss to Emma’s head and whispered that she loved her before leaving. She pulled out her phone as she walked back to the elementary school building, dialing her favorite number.

 

“Hey baby, what’s up?” David asked.

“I need you to pick Emma up.”

“Why?”

“She came to see me…she’s a mess. She’s sorry about everything, I’m sure she’ll tell you. I think something’s really wrong, David. I’m going to try to come home as soon as I can, but she can’t be here right now,” she explained. “I know you’re hurt, but I don’t think she meant any of it. It’s whatever is going on with her.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll be right there.”

* * *

David kept the radio off as he drove to the school. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to Emma. She was a child, a teenager. She was going to say things she didn’t mean. But her words stung. He didn’t realize how much they could.

 

He pulled into the parking lot and headed into the school, going to the office. He found Emma sitting there.

 

“Emma.”

 

His voice came out cold and he didn’t even mean it to. She slowly looked up and his heart broke. She had been crying and it looked like she hadn’t slept much. She just grabbed her bag and walked out of the office. The two walked in silence to the truck and they got in. He drove for a while until he pulled up at the beach.

 

“Why are we here?” She whispered, her voice groggy.

“I had a feeling you didn’t want to head home.”

Fresh tears fell down her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” She looked up at him. “I’m really sorry Dadd…I mean, Dad.” She didn’t feel she deserved to call him daddy. Even Dad was a stretch in her mind.

“What happened last night?”

She shook her head. “I’m really sorry I talked to you like that. And I know nothing can make it better. I don’t even know why I said it…I guess I was just tired and upset. Please, I know I can’t ask you to forgive me, but if you…”

“Emma…”

“I promise I’ll never do it again. And I’ll work on talking to you about stuff….”

“Emma.”

“I love you and I know I don’t deserve to be your princess, I just don’t want to leave! I don’t want to go back to him!”

“Go back to him? What are you talking about?”

“He’s not even my father, you are! That’s what a dad is, right? Someone who’s there for you…not someone who…who…”

 

She ran out of steam just as it dawned on the blonde male what she was going on about. He unbuckled his seatbelt and slid across to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He didn’t say a word, he just laid a kiss to the top of her head.

 

“I…I came home,” she whispered. “You and Mom were in the living room…you said you didn’t want me anymore and that…that I was too much trouble. Then the door opened and _they_ walked in.” The tears fell harder. “You were going to send me back to them.”

David stroked her hair and kissed her head again. “Oh baby…” He unbuckled her seatbelt and she crawled into his lap. He rocked her back and forth. “Princess…”

“I don’t deserve that nickname,” she choked out. “I don’t even deserve to call you daddy.”

“Yes, yes you do,” he whispered, kissing her temple. “Princess, you know that we would never do that. We wouldn’t send you back and we would never let that awful man around you again.”

“I just…I know this hasn’t been easy…”

“Not much about life is.”

“I didn’t want to tell you…I knew what you’d say and I…I wasn’t sure if you’d mean it.”

“Of course I mean it, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

“And I forgive you.”

“You shouldn’t. Hate me.”

“I could never hate you.” He wiped her tears away with his thumb. “Just next time…please just try to think before you talk.”

“I will, I will.” She buried her head deep in his chest and they sat there like that for awhile.

 

David was surprised at how quickly he was able to forgive. He remembered messing up as a kid and wondering too, how his mom was always there for him, no matter what he did. That was a parent’s love. Loving a child even when they weren’t necessarily being the greatest.

 

After awhile, he reluctantly let her go and they drove back to the house. Emma didn’t want to leave her father, so he agreed to lay with her in his bed. Both were very tired and just needed to relax. Emma’s arms were beginning to bother her. She was really doing her best not to scratch, but she couldn’t help it. David looked down at her, perplexed.

 

“Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

 

Both shut their eyes again, but David could only doze off for a minute. It was like something was telling him to wake up. He looked down at his daughter and noticed there was blood coming through her light pink sleeve.

 

“Princess, wake up,” he whispered.

Her eyes flickered open and she looked up at him sleepily. “Mmm…Daddy?”

“What’s going on?” He gently rolled up the sleeve and gasped. There were long, infected scrapes running across her arm. “Emma…”

“Daddy…”

“Did you…did you do this to yourself?” She bit down on her lip, but didn’t speak. Her silence said it all. He rolled up the other sleeve, it looked the same. “Oh my goodness, baby…”

“I won’t do it again,” she whispered.

“Is this the first time?”

She shook her head. “I used to do it a few years ago, but I stopped.”

“Princess, these cuts are infected. I have to take you to the doctor.”

“Daddy!”

“We’ll talk about the rest of it later but they need to be checked out right now.”

 

His heart felt like it had shattered. His baby girl, his beautiful baby girl was so upset that she had mutilated her body. He carefully helped her out of bed and lead her down to the car. The trip was quiet. He knew he wanted to talk to her, but not alone, not without Mary.

 

He knew what she was going to say and for the first time, he agreed. Emma really, really needed help. More than he could give and it made him feel like a failure as a parent. He was supposed to be able to help her, to make her feel better. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t ease her pain.

 

Thankfully no one else was sick or injured, so they were able to get in to see Dr. Whale pretty quickly.

  
“Well Emma, I just saw you a few weeks ago, what’s going on now?” He asked with a smile.

“I was running around with some friends and I fell and scraped my arms on some branches,” Emma lied. She was really, really embarrassed at what she had done and didn’t want more people to figure it out. “I didn’t want to worry my parents so I didn’t tell my dad until today.”

 

David didn’t want to make things worse, so he allowed her to lie, even though he knew that Whale would be able to tell.

 

“Well, let’s take a look, hmm?” Whale instructed for Emma to pull up her sleeves. The father saw the look in the doctor’s eyes and knew that he knew that she was lying. But, he chose to play along. “Okay, let’s get some cream on that and dress them. You shouldn’t need any stitches or anything. I’ll just give your dad a prescription for the cream and you should change the bandages every so often until they heal.”

 

He grabbed the cream and put on his gloves. David wrapped an arm around Emma’s waist, knowing it was going to hurt. The doctor slowly put on the cream and the blonde moaned in pain. It really, really stung. But eventually it was done and he wrapped her arms up in ace bandages.

 

“You did a great job, Em. Why don’t you go out into the waiting room, I have to talk to your dad for a minute.”

Emma looked up at her dad, unsure. David kissed the top of her head. “Go on, Princess. I’ll be out there soon.” She hopped off the table and walked out.

“You know she didn’t get those scars from branches,” Whale said.

“Yes, I do. She admitted she did it to herself. I just didn’t want to embarrass her, here.”

“I am going to recommend therapy,” he began. David went to speak, but he cut him off. “I have access to Emma’s previous records, I was reviewing them after Mary brought her for a checkup when she first got here. I don’t think any of you want a revisit to her last attempt.”

“Last attempt?” David asked, puzzled.

“I assumed her social worker would have told you. When Emma was eleven years old, she attempted to take her life.”

His eyes widened. “What?”

“She stole her foster mother’s pills and overdosed.”

“Oh my God…” His mind began to spin. “Did she…get help?”

“She was supposed to see a therapist, but I see no records of it. All that seemed to have occurred was that she switched foster homes.”


	10. Help

David walked into the waiting room where his daughter sat. She looked up at him with her big green eyes. He could see just how beautiful, how amazing, how caring she was. But he could also see the scars of her past. This little girl should’ve been loved and cared for from the moment she was born. Yet, the people she was born to, the people who’s job it was to protect her and cared for her, hadn’t. They had abused her, they broke her. All of this was their fault. Never in his life had he wanted to kill someone. But now, he was glad the biological mother was dead and the biological father was behind bars. He wanted to kill them both.

 

Mary and he could not have children for so long. They loved Emma, she was their world. And they would’ve done all that from the moment she was born, if given the chance. They would’ve rocked her to sleep, taught her how to walk and talk, checked for monsters. They would’ve welcomed her running to them when they walked through the door.

 

She should’ve always been theirs.

 

“Daddy,” she whispered.

 

David bent down and picked her up, hugging her tightly. He never wanted to let her go again, he just wanted to hold her and let her feel loved. He carried her out to his truck and sat in the driver’s seat, holding her close. Emma wasn’t sure what was going on, but she wasn’t going to fight it.

 

“I never want to lose you,” he muttered, kissing her head.

“You’re not going to lose me, Daddy,” she told him, burying her head in his shoulder.

He slowly rubbed her back and just held her for a minute, thinking about what could’ve and should’ve been. Sure, he was only 15 when Emma was born, but maybe fate could’ve worked in different ways. He just wanted to save her, from everything.

* * *

When they got back to the house, David still clung to Emma, afraid if he let her go, she’d slip away. He lead her back up to his room and laid her down on the bed. They laid there together for quite some time until she fell asleep. A little while later, Mary walked in and smiled at them.

 

“Look at you two,” she whispered. But then she caught a glimpse of his face. “What’s wrong?”

He took Emma’s arm and pulled up her sleeve, carefully. “She cut herself.”

Mary’s eyes widened and she sat on the bed. “Oh my goodness.”

“The cuts got infected, so I took her to Whale…he said he had reviewed her records,” his breath hitched. “She attempted suicide when she was eleven.”

 

Tears gathered in Mary’s eyes and she took Emma into her arms. The blonde stirred but didn’t wake. She held her tightly, kissing her head.

 

“But the social worker said she hadn’t seen a therapist since she was seven.”

“She fell through the cracks, Mary,” he whispered.

“Oh my…” She held her daughter tightly. “David, I don’t care what you say, I’m calling Archie…”

“I agree with you, trust me. She needs more help than we can give her.” He sighed. “And that kills me.”

“We’re not therapists.”

“No, but we’re her parents. We should be able to protect her from all of this.”

“All of this happened before she even came here.”

“It just…” he banged his fist on the bed. “It pisses me off. We tried for so long to have a child and we couldn’t. Yet those drug dealers were able to have a perfect baby girl and they abused her and broke her. It’s not fair. She should’ve been ours, they didn’t deserve her. We wouldn’t have hurt her like that.”

 

Mary sighed, she often thought the same way that he did. She found such disgust for those people and yet…without them, she wouldn’t have her daughter. They never should’ve abused her, but she had begun to see the bigger picture.

 

“Oh David,” she whispered, touching his face. “My love…” She sighed again. “I know how you feel. I feel it too. But at the same time, she wouldn’t be Emma if I had carried her in my stomach. Yes, those people broke her, but look at her personality. She’s stubborn and kind…”

“She could be all that if she came from us.”

“Yes, but she wouldn’t be the same Emma and would you change her for the world?”

He bit his lip. “Of course not.”

“I wish I could’ve given birth to her, taught her how to walk and talk, played dolls and princesses with her, I wish I could’ve been her mother for those first thirteen years, but maybe that’s not what fate wanted.”

“How could fate want this for her?”

“Maybe because we were meant to stitch her back together. They broke her, but we’re the glue. Her past is awful, but she will get better. It won’t be over night, it’s going to take time. But we’ll be there for her.” She stroked his cheek. “It’s not too late.”

He had tears in his eyes, how could his wife make him feel a little better with just a few words. He leaned over and kissed her. “I love you, you know that?”

“I love you too.” She squeezed his hand. “I love how you are with her. She became your little girl without much time.”

“Same with you.”

“I always worried…” Mary bit her lip. “That you wouldn’t love a child we adopted, that you would resent them and me for not being able to have a biological one.”

“Hey, I could never, not for a minute. I would never say I’m glad you can’t give me a baby of our own blood, but if you could…we wouldn’t have our daughter. Plus, I could never resent you.” He kissed her.

She grinned and kissed him back. “I love you, you know.”

“I love you too.”

“Once things calm down, we need a date night. We haven’t been out just us since we adopted her.”

“I agree. Though…” He looked down at Emma. “I’m not sure if I ever want her alone again.”

“We’ll work it out.”

 

Eventually, David left to get takeout from Granny’s and Emma woke up, Mary was beside her. She slightly smiled at her mom and in return, the brunette kissed her temple.

 

“Daddy told you?”

“Yeah, he did sweets.” She bit her lip. “Honey, I have this friend, Archie Hopper. He’s a psychologist…”

Emma knew where this was going. “Mom, I said I’d never do it again…”

“Sweetie, Dr. Whale told your father about your suicide attempt.”

The teen’s cheeks flushed. She remembered that time very, very well. She hadn’t really wanted to die, as she would realize later. She had just found out that her foster parents were sending her back into the system because they were getting a baby of their own. It broke her even more than before. When she woke up, she knew it was a mistake. “How…I didn’t tell anyone…my social worker said that she wouldn’t tell any of my foster parents because no one would want a kid that did that.”

“It’s in your medical records, which Whale had access to since he’s your doctor now,” Mary explained. She stroked the young girl’s cheek. “I am so sorry you felt like you had to do that.”

“It was a mistake. I wouldn’t do it again!”

“You also told yourself you’d stop cutting, didn’t you?” The blonde didn’t respond. “Baby, this isn’t because you’re bad or that we’re mad at you. We just want you to get some help.”

“Talking about it doesn’t help.”

“It might.”

“When they made me see someone after…you know…the therapist just told me to get over it.”

Mary’s muscles tightened. She was beginning to deeply hate everyone her daughter had come into contact with. “Well they were bad at their job then.”

“Probably not. I was a case they had to take on for free since I had been molested. They just didn’t care.”

“Either way. I’ve known Archie for years, I’ve had to send some of my students to them. He’s really great. He can’t work miracles overnight, but he does help.”

Emma bit her lip for a minute. “Would I have to go alone?”

“Of course not. I’d go with you, your father too, if you want.”

“Okay.”

Mary smiled. She really didn’t have a choice, but it was going to make things ten times easier since she agreed. “Thank you, baby.” She hugged her tightly and her daughter hugged her back tighter.

 

Later that night, after Emma went to bed, Mary sat in the den, looking over the records that Whale had dropped off so she could give them to Archie. Since she was the girl’s guardian, she had access to them. Emma was right, the therapist she saw when she was a child was terrible. There were barely any notes on it. In the meantime, she found some of the drawings she had Emma do. They were adorable, simply just pictures of houses and flowers. But then she stumbled across a piece of paper with childlike handwriting. She put her hand over her mouth as she read it.

 

David walked in holding two beers, sitting on the couch beside her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Look at this, she wrote this when she saw that firs therapist.” She took her beer and handed David the paper.

 

It was written in pen and a little hard to read, but not by much. One could tell that Emma took the assignment seriously.

 

**Dream Mommy and Daddy**

**-Nice**

**-Bakes cookies with me**

**-Mommy is pretty**

**-No hitting or yelling**

**-No bad touch**

**-No smoking**

**-Daddy is a prince**

**-Big house**

**-Reads stories**

**-Watch movies**

**-Go to park**

**-Say “I Love You”**

David had tears streaming down his face by the time he was done reading it, as did his wife. He pulled her close and kissed her head.

 

“She has that now,” he whispered.

“She shouldn’t have had to ask for any of that, it just should’ve been given to her.” Mary whispered back.

“I know, but she’s with us now. With her pretty mommy.”

“And her prince Daddy.”

David chuckled, in spite of his tears. “I wouldn’t say I’m a prince.”

“I would and I think Emma would too. You’re our Prince Charming.”

He kissed her and then looked at the artwork. “She was quite good.”

“I almost want to put these on the fridge but I don’t want to embarrass her.”

“Well you can ask her about it.”

 

The next day was Halloween. Mary called Archie and made an appointment, but he was a bit booked so he couldn’t see Emma until the following week, but promised that if he had an opening, it was guaranteed to her.

 

Halloween had never really been special to Emma. In foster care, they would drag her to some trunk-or-treat thing, but she didn’t ever enjoy it. Now, she was a teenager and she didn’t really want to dress up or anything. She couldn’t even go to Lily’s party because she was still grounded. But she could tell that Halloween was a big deal to her parents. They were the types to get excited about all the holidays.

 

She walked downstairs, to find her mother looking through boxes of decorations and costumes.

 

“What are you doing? This place is decorated enough.” It was true, everything was covered in cheesy, pretending to be spooky décor.

“I’m trying to figure out a costume for tonight. What do you want to be?”

“I’m grounded. I can’t do anything fun.”

“Well, your dad has to work late tonight, so you can help me pass out candy! You have to dress up for that!” She gave her daughter a smile.

“I haven’t dressed up since I was eight.”

“What’d you go as?”

“A princess, I think. I don’t know. The costume was a hand-me-down from a foster sister.”

“I bet you looked adorable.”

“If I’m doing this, I don’t want to look adorable.”

 

She knelt beside the brunette and started going through the box. Nothing had long sleeves. Self-consciously, she tugged down on her own. Mary noticed and rubbed her arm.

 

“Did your dad switch your bandages and clean them before he left?”

“Yes, even though I could’ve done it.”

“Not gonna happen.”

She rolled her eyes. “How much more coddling am I gonna get?”

“Do you really want it to stop?”

Emma blushed. “Not really…it just gets annoying sometimes.”

“We just care, sweets.”

“I know, I know.”

 

She pulled out a witch hat and put it on her head.

 

“I’ll wear my black dress.”

Mary smiled. “Sounds perfect.”

“What are you going to be?”

“I don’t know, help me choose.”

 

The two looked for another minute, until Emma found a short white dress with red accents, followed by a matching hat. Suddenly she connected the two and dropped the outfit.

  
“Mom, that’s gross!”

Mary glanced over and started to laugh. “Oh yeah, I bought that the first Halloween after your father and I got married. That was a fun one.”

“Ew, ew, I need to erase that mental image from my mind!”

Mary wrapped an arm around her. “Oh honey, one day you’ll understand.”

“Like Daddy would ever let me wear something like that.”

“Oh yeah, because I totally asked my parents for permission when I wore mine.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “You never talk about them…your parents.”

“Well… not a lot to say. My mom died when I was quite young, I don’t have very many memories of her. My father remarried.”

“Was she nice?”

“She was alright. I don’t think she truly loved my father.”

“What happened?”

“Well, it was complicated. I came from a very wealthy family, so it was sort of a shock when I brought home a farmer’s son for Easter dinner.” She sighed. “I made a choice, one I don’t regret.”

“You mean…” Emma bit her lip. “You chose Dad over your family?”

“They’re not my family anymore, he is,” Mary stroked her daughter’s cheek. “You are. I still talk to my father occasionally, but not often.”

“Does he…”

“I told him about you, yes. I don’t think you’ll ever meet him, though.”

 

Emma sat back, staring at her palms. Her parents had both had seemingly great childhoods, but like her, their biological families were broken. Both of their mothers were dead and they didn’t speak to their fathers. It was almost creepy in a way at how connected they all are.

 

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Mary gave her a smile. “Why? I’m not. I love my life. Your father and you are the best things to ever happen to me.”

“You’re really optimistic.”

“It’s just my nature.” She kissed her daughter’s head. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go for it.”

“Well, Whale sent over your files, from your old therapy sessions. Since I’m your legal guardian, I’m allowed to view them. Anyway, I found these pictures…” She pulled out the folder and took them out.

Emma giggled. “Dear God, I was awful.”

“They’re precious. Do you mind if I put them on the fridge?”

“Seriously?”

“Every mother should have their child’s artwork on her fridge.”

She grinned. “Okay.” That’s when she saw another piece of paper sticking out of the folder. She recognized one of the lines and pulled it out, suddenly turning bright red. “Did you…”

“Yeah, we did.” Mary frowned. “You shouldn’t have had to ask for any of that, you know. It should’ve just been given to you.”

“Well I can check all of it off now.” She told her, taking her mom’s hand.

“All but one.” Emma gave her a curious look. “We’ve never baked cookies together.” A twinkle of glee filled the brunette’s eyes.

Emma smiled. “I’ve never baked before.”

“I’ll teach you. It’s a super-secret recipe. I don’t even let your father see it.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s for Blanchard women eyes only and that includes you.”

* * *

That night, Emma helped Mary pass out the candy and in between, they watched The Nightmare Before Christmas. Technically the teen was grounded, but her mom promised not to tell her dad if she didn’t. They also munched on cookies (after a full dinner, Mary wasn’t that relaxed to allow desert before diner) and talked some. Around 8, there was another knock at the door.

 

“We’re almost out of candy, Mom,” Emma said, grabbing the bowl.

“I’ll go get more from the closet.”

She nodded and fixed her hat, opening the door. She raised an eyebrow when she saw who was there. It was Baelfire, dressed as Peter Pan. “Uh, hi.”

“Hi,” he smirked. “Trick-or-treat.”

“Why are you trick-or-treating, isn’t that for kids?”

“Any excuse for free candy, you know.”

She giggled. “I suppose, you’re right.”

“I would’ve invited you, but I know you’re grounded.”

“One more week and I’ll be free.”

“No ankle bracelet?” He teased.

“No, but I have to report to my parole officer. You know, being the sheriff’s daughter and all.”

Baelfire chuckled and went to say something, when he saw Mary walk up behind Emma. “Hi Mrs. Nolan.”

“Hello Neal, it’s so good to see kids your age still trick-or-treating.” She gave him a warm smile. “We baked some cookies, I’ll go wrap some up for you.”

“Oh you don’t have to do that…”

“Nonsense, it’s no trouble.” She turned around and walked off.

“Seriously, you don’t want to miss these. They’re amazing,” Emma assured him.

“Anything you say, Em.” Mary walked back over, holding a plastic baggy full of cookies. She dropped them into his sack and Emma put in some candy. “Well, I better go, more houses to hit and I have a curfew.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic harmonica, one they give to little kids. “Here, someone was giving these out, it’s perfect for you jailbird, something to keep you busy.”

Emma giggled and took it. “Thanks. See you around.”

“See you.” He walked off as she shut the door.

 

Emma turned to see her mom smiling at her.

 

“What?”

“That was just really sweet as all.”

“He’s a great friend.”

“If you say so.”

 

The blonde could tell what her mother met, but she didn’t indulge it. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to date. She had been through so much with men, it was enough for her to trust David. But even that was different. She couldn’t explain it, but she just knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She wasn’t ready to open herself up like that.

 

They ended up watching another movie, Halloweentown. Emma fell asleep with her head on her mother’s arm. Mary cuddled her close and kissed her forehead. That’s when she noticed her arms again. She sighed, this wasn’t going to be fun.

 

“Sweets, wake up,” she whispered.

“Mmm…”

“I have to clean your cuts.”

“Later…”

“You’re falling asleep Baby Doll. Come on, just real quick.”

 

She got up and walked out of the room, returning a moment later with fresh bandages and cream. Emma was already dozing off to sleep. She sighed and slowly removed the bandages. A frown went across her face. She hated seeing these on her baby’s arms. She really hoped the scarring wouldn’t be too bad. She carefully applied the cream, causing Emma to whimper.

 

“Mommy!” She whined.

“I know, but you gotta let me do this. Almost done with one arm.” She moved onto the second, which just made her daughter whimper more. “There, all set.” She grabbed the bandages and wrapped up her arms. “Why don’t you head up to bed?”

“I’m watching the movie,” Emma mumbled, with her eyes shut.

“Your eyes are closed.”

“I can still hear it. Plus I’m too comfy to move.”

Mary giggled. “Alright, I’ll have your father take you up when he comes home.” She sat back down beside Emma, who curled up in her side. “You know I love you, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“So you’ll never do something like that again?”

Emma sighed and her eyes flickered open.  “Mom…”

“I know, I’m not a therapist and I don’t want to upset you…it’s just…why would you want to hurt yourself?”

“You don’t get it,” the blonde whispered.

“Explain. Please.”

“It’s not about hurting myself…I’m already hurting…it’s just using one pain to mask the other.”

Mary frowned. “I see.”

“I said you wouldn’t get it.”

“I don’t…I wish I could.”

“Like you said, you’re not a therapist.” She drew back a deep breath. “You’re not going to tell anyone I’m seeing him, right?”

“Why would I?”

Emma shrugged. “I don’t know. My social worker maybe…”

“We don’t really have to report any of this to her unless she asks.”

“And she probably never will.” She sighed. “How much longer…until I’m not a foster kid anymore?”

“Not too long, sweets. I promise.” She kissed the top of her head.

 

Eventually, Emma fell back asleep, before the movie was even over. The door opened around eleven and David walked in, looking exhausted. There was a staffing problem at the station, so he was working a lot of doubles. He saw his girls on the couch and smiled.

 

“Thought she was grounded,” he said.

“One time exception.” She explained. “I think she’s sleeping in this dress tonight. I couldn’t even get her to walk up the stairs.”

“She’s been tired a lot more lately.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, probably just the stress.”

“Does she have another checkup with Whale soon?”

“Not for a few more months. Really though, I’m not too concerned yet.”

 

David sighed and leaned down, collecting his little girl in his arms. She stirred, but didn’t wake up. He laid a kiss to her forehead and stroked her hair.

 

“Archie can get her in next week,” Mary told him.

“Can she wait that long?”

“The thing is, it flares up randomly. Like, she was pretty much okay today, but tomorrow it could be different. It’s all going to depend, even with therapy.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait it out, but I’m really nervous about her punishment being over next week.”

“I know what you mean, we’ve been able to keep her close.”

“I don’t think that Ruby and Lily would ever let anything bad happen to her.”

“No, but she could easily go out on her own.”

David sighed again and held his daughter closer. “We’ll figure something out.”


	11. Eight Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may contain sensitive content, as does all the series, so please read at your own risk.

Emma sat slumped over the table, staring at her breakfast. She had not one, but two nightmares the evening prior and was running on very little sleep. Mary had woken up with the last one and laid with her, but she still couldn't sleep. Her parents were rushing around to get ready, so she was alone. Out of her corner of her eye, she spotted the coffee pot. It was one of the first things David put on every morning. Emma had drunk coffee before, but ever since she moved in with the Nolan's, it hadn't been allowed. Mary had said something about kids and caffeine and an article she had read, but Emma tuned her out after a while, not wanting a super long lecture.

She got up and walked over to the maker, pouring out a mug. She sipped it and smiled. It was like saying hello to an old friend.

"Emma." She whipped around to see David standing there. "What are you doing?"

Busted. "Drinking."

"Drinking what?"

"Orange juice."

He walked over and took the mug.

"Since when is orange juice, brown?"

"Special fall flavor edition."

David cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"You know your mom doesn't want you drinking this."

"Yes, but she's getting ready so you could be the best dad in the world and let me drink it." She batted her eyelashes and pouted.

Her dad chuckled. "Nope."

"Please."

He took a sip of it. "It's mine now."

"That's not fair."

"Your mother would kill me."

"So you're that scared of Mom?"

"He should be." Mary said as she walked in. "What's going on?"

"I just caught Emma drinking coffee," David explained, pecking his wife's lips.

Emma glared at him as Mary gasped. "Rat," the blonde muttered.

"Emma, do you not remember our talk about caffeine?"

"I remember you saying something about it."

"Like how your brain isn't developed and…"

"Hey, can I go to school? That's about enough lecture that I can take it."

Mary rolled her eyes.

"Remember, we have your appointment with Archie after school."

"How could I forget?" Emma muttered.

She wasn't opposed to therapy, but it scared her. She didn't like talking about her past or her nightmares. She hadn't even told her parents everything. Not to mention, it was a small town. She knew the therapist couldn't tell anyone what she said, but she worried about someone spotting her going in and labeling her as some sort of freak or worse. But there was no way out. She had tried to tell Mary the night before that she was better and didn't need to go, but of course it was meant with no sale. She knew going into her pitch that it'd be the case.

"I could try to get out work, Princess," David's words broke her through her thoughts.

"I'm good, Daddy."

"Are you sure? Maybe Graham could cover."

A part of her did want David there, but she also wasn't sure if she was ready for him to hear anything.

"Seriously, I have Mom. I'll see you tomorrow," acknowledging that he had to work the night shift. He wasn't even going in until 3 PM, so he wouldn't be back until long after she was asleep. She had a bedtime, which was still an adjustment.

"I'll say goodnight when I get home."

She kissed his cheek and left with her mom. David sighed. He knew why Emma was pushing him away when it came to this and that she'd be in good hands with Mary, but he wished he could be there for her. He didn't want Emma to think there was nothing he couldn't handle. He wanted her to be able to come to him with anything.

* * *

"Hey, you're not grounded anymore, right?" Lily asked Emma as they walked down the hall with Ruby later that day.

"Right."

"Do you want to go see a movie after school? Suicide Squad is out."

"Emma thought about it. She was supposed to be at Mary's classroom around 2:45. What would the harm be if she blew the appointment off? To her, she could stand to go another few weeks without having to talk about any of it. 'Sure."

"Sweet. My mom said she'll drive us."

After classes were over, Emma headed towards the junior high pick up area. She was running a tad behind and her friends would be waiting on her. She was debating whether or not to text Baelfire as well when a familiar brunette appeared in front of her.

"Mom. I uh, was about to meet up with you."

"Right. That's why I got a call from Mal to ask if it was okay if she picked you up and said you agreed to go see Suicide Squad with the girls."

The teen's cheeks flushed. "Uh…"

"I told her you forgot that you had a checkup."

"Mom…" She looked at the ground.

Mary wrapped an arm around her, tilting her head up to face her. "I'll be with you the whole time."

"No," Emma whispered.

"What?"

"I think it should just be me and Dr. Hopper."

"If you're sure."

She wasn't, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for her mom to hear everything. They headed out to the car and Mary drove them to the office. Emma slowly walked in and let Mary speak to the secretary. A moment later, a door in the back opened and a red headed man walked out. He was wearing a tweed vest and corduroy pants, with glasses covering his eyes. He spotted the mother and daughter, approaching them with a warm smile.

"Hello Mary," he gave his friend a hug.

"Hi Archie. This is Emma." She took her daughter's hand.

"Hi Emma. It's great to meet you."

"You too," she replied, quietly.

"Are you ready?" The blonde shrugged. "Would you like Mary to join us?"

"Emma wants it to be just you two." She looked down at her daughter. "I'll be right out here if you need me, sweets." She went to let go of Emma's hand, but the girl didn't let her.

"Can you come in?" Emma whispered. Suddenly, she was a little scared.

"Of course," Mary replied softly, kissing her head, feeling relieved that her daughter had changed her mind.

The three of them walked into the office. Archie sat in the arm chair while Emma and Mary settled down on the couch.

"So Emma, tell me about you."

"What about me?"

"Where were you born?"

"Portland. I moved to Boston when I was little though and grew up there."

"Do you like school? Do you have a favorite subject?"

"It's okay, I guess. I like History."

"What do you like about it?"

"It's just interesting."

He nodded and scribbled something down. He asked her some more about herself and Emma was puzzled. They hadn't even begun to discuss her problems. On the other hand, it was sort of a relief. She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk about that yet.

"Do you get a lot of sleep at night?" Archie asked eventually.

 _So much for that_ , she thought to herself.

"It depends."

"On?"

She shifted uncomfortably and her mom squeezed her hand. "I have nightmares a lot."

"About?"

'They vary."

"You don't need to give me full description if you're not comfortable, but could I get the gist of one?"

She bit her lip, staring at her hands.

"My biological father."

"Okay."

"Sometimes flashbacks, sometimes he's back."

"What did he do to leave such an impact?"

"Don't you know already?"

"I'd like to hear it from you. You know your story better than some file."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Um…he uh…molested me. His friends." Her breath hitched and Mary rubbed her back. "Would too. They took pictures…and stuff like that…"

"How long did this go on?"

"Until I was 5."

"But when did it start?"

"I don't know. I…I can't remember a time when it wasn't happening before I was removed. It was just always sort of something that happened."

Mary's hand suddenly stopped rubbing and paused in the center of her back. She had never asked Emma that. The fact that was her earlies childhood memory brought tears to her eyes. She did her best to field them off, knowing that Emma needed her to be strong.

"When were you put into the system?"

"I was 5, that's the only reason why it stopped." As she had grown older, she realized just how bad it could've gotten.

"Do you remember the day you were taken?"

Emma let out a deep breath, remembering back to that awful day, eight years ago…

_Emma hid in the closet, clutching her blanket tightly. Her father had friends over and she knew this was the only way to not be touched. If she tried to play in the living room or even her own room, they'd find a way in. Suddenly, she heard banging on the door, followed by screaming. She covered her ears, tears falling down her face. There were footsteps and she heard things breaking. Next, she listened as her bedroom door opened._

" _Police!"_

_She sobbed and held her blanket closer. The closet was thrown open and she screamed. A cop stood there holding a gun. The tears fell faster, she had seen one before, but it was still scary. The man slowly lowered the weapon and knelt in front of her._

" _Are you Emma?" She slowly nodded and he looked at the door, calling out to someone. "Tell the social worker we found her." He put the gun back in his holster and held out his hand. "Come with me."_

_She shook her head. "Daddy will be mad."_

" _You don't have to worry about him anymore. Please just come with me."_

_She looked up into his eyes._

" _I'm a good guy, I promise. I'm going to bring you to a better place."_

_She slowly stood up and reached her tiny hand out for his own._

Back in the present, her eyes flickered open. "They took me to the station and then I got sent to my first foster home." She was lightly crying now. She couldn't even look at her mom, but she knew she was too.

"That had to have been scary."

"It all happened very quickly. I didn't understand it fully for awhile. And then I…" She sighed. "I felt like he lied to me. That first foster home was awful." That had been the one home to hit her. The rest were just using her for the check.

"Did it make you fearful or distrusting of cops?"

She bit her lip. "Yes."

She was very glad in that moment that David wasn't there. She remembered how scared she was upon realizing he was the sheriff. She hated cops before then. It didn't help that she was constantly told by everyone to never tell them anything, that no one would believe her. She was starting to realize they had all been wrong. David was a good guy, so was Graham, he just took his job seriously. The other officers were nice too. But still, she had that nagging thought in the back of her head.

"Well Emma, I want to thank you for sharing all that with me. I'm sure it wasn't easy. This seems like a good place to stop for now."

She let out a deep breath, happy it was over. Though, she was sort of glad that she got some of it out there. It seemed to be the only way to tell Mary about her past.

"But I'll see you back here next week, same time."

She nodded. "Thank you."

"It's no problem. And here." He reached over and opened a drawer on his desk. He pulled out a small journal and handed it to her. "I want you to write down your dreams. Good, bad, indifferent. I won't read it unless you ask me to, but I think it'll help."

All she could do was nod again and shake his hand. Mary thanked him as well and they headed down to the car. Emma settled down in her seat, not sure what to say as she put the journal in her backpack.

Mary put a hand on her arm. "I'm proud of you, sweets."

"Seriously?" She looked up at her.

"Yeah, that couldn't have been easy."

"I didn't even talk about the bad part."

"Still." She kissed her head.

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweets?"

"You won't tell Dad, right? What I said about cops?"

"Oh sweets, he won't take it in a bad way, he knows he didn't do anything. Those police officers handled it wrong, they shouldn't have gone in like that knowing there was a kid there."

"Still. Please."

Mary sighed. "Do you still feel like that?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then I guess I have no reason to."

Emma sighed in relief and leaned back into her seat. They drove home in silence, barring the radio, and once they were home, Emma went upstairs to do some homework. Her mind drifted back to what she was talking about earlier and the tears welled up all over again. A part she had left came to her.

" _You little brat!" Her father had hissed at her. He was handcuffed and up against one of the police cars "You won't be away forever!"_

_The officer holding Emma's hand tried to get her to the other as fast as possible. Her large baby blanket trailed on the ground behind her and she had her thumb in her mouth, trying to calm down._

" _Don't tell them anything! Don't let them look at you! They're evil! They're trying to take you away from me!" Another officer began to force him into the car. "You will be mine again!"_

Tears poured down Emma's cheeks and she tipped her head back. She suddenly remembered a year later, being sat down by her social worker.

" _Emma, I know you've been hearing things about your mother getting you back."_

" _I don't want her," Emma whispered._

" _I know. Honey, your mother passed away last night."_

Relief and guilt for the relief still haunted Emma. She was six years old. How could she be happy that the woman who gave her life was dead? How could she not want them? She knew they were terrible, but they were the people who gave her life. Yet, that's not what parents were. That's why it came so naturally for her to call Mary and David "Mom and Dad". They were what parents were supposed to be. Yet sometimes, it still didn't feel like she was their daughter. It was nothing they did, it was her. All her.

It always all her.

By now, she was hypervenalating again. She put her head on top of her books, trying to calm down, but it was no use. The door opened and Mary rushed in, kneeling in front of her. She took Emma's face into her hands.

"Oh baby, please, breath."

"I…I…I hate…hate them," Emma was hypervenalating.

"I know, I know. Please just breathe." Emma shook her head and Mary pulled the girl onto her lap, rubbing her back. The blonde didn't stop, it just continued until Mary realized her eyes were closing, though her breathing was still uneven. She was blacking out. "Sweets, no, please!" The hypervenalating stopped, but so did any movement. Tears sprung to the mother's eyes as she grabbed Emma's phone from the desk and dialed 9-1-1.

* * *

David was at the station going over some paperwork when he got the call. His wife was sobbing and all he could make out was Emma, panic attack and hospital. Finally, Archie took the phone and explained the situation. Without thinking, he bolted out of the station and jumped in his truck, heading to the hospital. About halfway there, he pulled out his phone and broke the law to text Graham to cover. He was already going over the speed limit but he didn't care. Soon he was at the hospital and ran through the doors of the E.R. Mary stood there with Archie. She wasn't crying anymore, but you could tell she obviously had. David pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. She hugged him tighter, burying her head in his chest.

"She just…she wouldn't stop hypervenalating or crying and then she…she became unconscious in my arms."

"Shhh…my love. It's going to be okay. It's all going to be okay." He kissed her head. "Where is she now?"

"They took her into the back."

"They're just doing an evaluation," Archie spoke up. "She should be just fine."

"Physically," David muttered.

"Given this, without even speaking with her much on the abuse, it's pretty clear that she has PTSD."

David's eyebrows arched. "PTSD? I didn't think that happened in teenagers."

"It can when they've been through a traumatic event, like Emma has."

"But it's been eight years."

"Typically PTSD doesn't flare up for a while. Given her past records, it looks like she's been showing symptoms for years. She would tell the doctor about panic attacks at her checkups, but again nothing was done about it."

Both parents felt their hearts breaking. They knew it was bad, they just didn't realize how terrible it was until then.

"I obviously want to see her for therapy, but I also think we need to get her on anti-depressants and/or anti-anxiety medication."

"But she's just a little girl," Mary said, looking up from David's chest.

"It'll be a very low dose and it'll be as needed only. I'm going to go work on the script now so you two can pick it up later." Archie grabbed his jacket.

"Thank you, Archie," David said.

"Not a problem." And with that, he was gone.

Mary clung to her husband.

"I feel helpless. So helpless."

"My mom said once that's how you know you're a parent," David mused. "When you want to do everything for your child but can't."

They didn't have to wait long for Dr. Whale to come out from the back.

"Emma's fine now, she's awake and breathing well."

"That's amazing news," Mary said.

"But, we ran some tests and I believe that Emma has asthma."

"Wouldn't she have known this earlier on in life?" She asked.

"It's possible to develop it later in life due to stress," Whale explained. "Given what Emma has been through, I would say that it makes sense. I'll be giving her an inhaler."

"How are we supposed to know the difference between a panic attack and an asthma attack?" David questioned. "Archie said he'd prescribe anti-anxiety medication."

"I would use the inhaler first, if that doesn't work, use the anxiety medication. She really should only be taking the latter if absolutely necessary. Plus, since she does track, she should use it after practices and meets."

"Can we see her?"

"Of course, she's ready to go. I'll prescribe the inhaler now so you can pick it up. I've already told her everything. She's in Room 5 in the back."

The two walked into the area and over to the room. Emma was sitting up on the cot, with more color on his face than before. She noticed David and sighed

"You shouldn't have come."

"Of course I did. You were in the hospital." He kissed her head. "How are you feeling?"

"Embarrassed. Mom, I'm really sorry…"

"You have zero to apologize for, sweets."

"I shouldn't have let it get that bad…"

"You can't help it." Mary took her hand. "It's going to be okay."

"It doesn't feel like it," the blonde mumbled.

"It will. I promise." She kissed her temple. "And I don't break promises."

Emma sighed again and leaned into David. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Come on, let's get you home. You need to relax."

"I have homework…" She started to say, remembering the pile she left on her desk.

"You were diagnosed with asthma and PTSD today," Mary said. "Your teachers will understand."

"PTSD?" Her green eyes glanced up.

"Right. Archie believes you have it. You'll talk more about it next week, but he's prescribing anti-anxiety meds to be taken on an at need basis," Mary explained.

"And we'll be keeping the pills in our bathroom, so you have to ask for them," David added. He wasn't trying to sound harsh, but after the cutting incident, he wasn't going to take any chances.

Too exhausted to say anything else, Emma merely nodded and allowed David to carry her to his truck. Since Mary had rode in the ambulance there, she went with them as well. Emma laid down on the couch and shut her eyes. A minute later, she felt someone slide something under arms. From the feel of the fabric, she knew it was her blanket. She held it close. Eight years later and it still brought her the same comfort.


	12. Mother/Daughter Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to point something out before we get started. I am not at all ignoring Emma’s PTSD or any of her other problems at this point, I just wanted to post a lighter chapter after all the drama I’ve been throwing around. We will go deeper into her problems as the series progresses. Plus, there was a request to see Emma rebel a little. I didn’t think that having her sneak out would work, since she just got in trouble for running away, but I was watching Bo Jack Horseman’s Christmas special and I couldn’t help but think of a Christmassy plot.

Winter was quickly approaching and the weather was getting colder. Since they lived by the water, it was especially chilly.  Storybrooke had gotten rid of their Halloween decorations and swapped them out with Christmas ones, despite the fact that it wasn’t even Thanksgiving. It was the kind of thing that made Emma roll her eyes, but the whole town seemed to be into it, including her mother. She was on the committee for the winter festival and their own home was already sort of decorated, though they hadn’t gotten the tree yet.

 

Emma woke up one Saturday morning and found a blanket of fresh snow on the ground. A smile came to her face, even if she found some parts of Christmas cheesy, snow was her favorite. Even in her foster homes, it was the one thing that people couldn’t ruin. They would go outside and make snow angels and build forts and just be kids.

 

She grabbed her phone and saw a text from Ruby…

 

**Wanna go ice skating on the lake?**

The blonde responded quickly. She didn’t have another appointment with Archie and already felt like she was having a good day, she hadn’t had nightmares the evening prior. Hopefully there would be no triggers that day.

 

She texted back a quick yes and got ready for the day, pulling on a pink turtleneck, black jeans and grabbed the ice skates that Mary had loaned her from when they went to the rink the week before. She put on her winter jacket and headed downstairs.

 

“Hey hon,” Mary said. “Where are you headed?”

“Ruby invited me to go ice skating at the lake,” she said.

“That’s not safe, Emma.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Mom.”

“The lake is barely thawed over. You could fall in and get hurt or sick.”

“That won’t happen. I know how to ice skate.”

“The answer’s no, Emma. You can hang out with your friends, but no ice skating.” Mary watched as her older daughter rolled her eyes again and stamped her foot and giggled. “Tantrums get you nowhere.”

“I am not throwing a tantrum.”

“Whatever you say, sweets. Are you still going out with your friends?”

“Yes, we’ll probably just go sledding instead.”

“Alright, don’t forget your scarf and hat.”

“M-om.”

“It’s freezing out there, Emma.”

 

She sighed and grabbed them both off the hook, putting it on, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. She had never had someone care so much to tell her to do all of this. She kissed Mary’s cheek before putting on her boots and heading out into the cold. The lake wasn’t too far from her house and it’s not like her mother would ever know. When she got there, Ruby and Lily were already sitting on a snow covered log, putting on their ice skates. Baelfire was with them as well. She couldn’t help but grin.

 

“Bae, hi! What are you doing here?”

“Lily invited me,” he explained, a smile on his own face.

 

Emma looked over at Lily, who winked. The blonde sighed. Lily was just like her mother, convinced that she had a crush on Baelfire and that he liked her back. But it wasn’t true…and even if it was, she wasn’t at the best place to be dating at the moment. Either way, she was just happy to have another friend there.

 

She sat down and put on the skates before heading out onto the lake with everyone. Mary hadn’t been kidding, the ice wasn’t that hard and a few parts were just sludge. Everyone tried to be careful, but eventually Lily got off, saying something about not wanting to catch pneumonia. Emma continued though with the others. The cold was making her cheeks bright pink and her fingers numb, even beneath her gloves, but she didn’t care. She shoved her hands into her pockets and continued skating. Ruby soon joined Lily and it wasn’t long after that, that Emma heard a crack. She went to move off the ice as quick as possible, but it was too late.

 

She fell into the frozen river below and nearly screamed. The air was nothing in comparison to the water. She was in down to her chin. She tried to get out, but found herself stuck on something. Lily and Ruby raced to the edge, while Bae carefully skated towards her.

 

“Are you okay?” Ruby asked frantically.

“I can’t move, I’m stuck. Baelfire you should really get off the ice before you fall in too.”

“I’m going to help you, hold on. Exactly what part is stuck?”

 

She moved her body a bit and found the source.

 

“My skate, I think the blade is caught on a rock or something.”

“You should take it off,” Ruby suggested. “Your foot will get wet, but you’re already in waist deep.”

 

Emma wriggled her foot best she could and finally came free. Baelfire scooped her up out of the water and carried her bridal style to shore, being very careful as he went. Lily reached in and grabbed the skate.

 

The blonde was shivering badly by this point and was becoming colder than she had ever been. Even in her foster homes, they didn’t always have appropriate winter wear but it was never this bad.

 

“Your lips are blue,” Baelfire muttered. “We need to get you warm.”

“My mom is going to kill me,” she moaned.

 

He set off carrying her out into the clearing, the other girls following when he spotted a familiar truck.

 

“Uh oh…” Ruby whispered.

“Kill me, kill me now,” Emma said to the curly haired boy who was holding her.

 

David leapt out of the truck and saw his daughter, running over.

 

“What happened?!?”

“We were ice skating on the lake and she fell in,” Baelfire explained, passing the teenager over.

“Skating on the lake? Are you all mad?” He kissed his daughter’s head.

“W…what are you doing here?”  Emma asked, her body still shaking.

“We got a call in saying some teenagers were messing around by the lake, I had no clue it was the four of you.” He took off his jacket and put it around Emma.

“Dad…it’s freezing…”

“I’ll be fine, let’s just get you home. Do the rest of you need a ride?”

“We’ll be fine, I’m close by,” Lily said. “We’ll call you Emma.” She handed the wet skate over to David and walked off with the others.

 

The sheriff carried his daughter to the truck where the heat was already blasting at the maximum notch. He got in the driver seat and started for home. Emma clung to both of the jackets around her, soon arriving at the house. She went to get up, but couldn’t, so David reached over, scooped her up and carried her inside.   


 

“Mary!” He called out.

She came out and saw her daughter, her eyes widening. “Emma!” She ran over and ran a hand over her daughter’s cool cheek. She didn’t even have to ask what happened, she knew. “We need to get her warm.”

“I’ll help her get changed. You turn up the heat and get the space heater…and blankets. Can she walk?”

“No.” He carried her up the stairs, his wife following. Normally Emma would protest them talking about her like she wasn’t there, but she was simply too cold to care. Once he had her in the bathroom, David walked out to give them some privacy while Mary grabbed warm clothes, a pair of Emma’s sweats, along with thermal shorts she wore for track to go under them. For a top she grabbed a long sleeved shirt along with one of David’s flannel button downs and two pairs of socks. She helped her undress and dry off, assisting her get the warm clothes on as soon as possible. Emma’s fingers still felt numb, so she didn’t even protest her mother buttoning the buttons and drying off her hair.

 

Mary carefully lead her into the bedroom, having her lay on the bed where she wrapped her in three blankets. David walked in a moment later with the space heater on blast. At that moment, he got a text.

 

“I’m sorry, it’s the station. With all this snow, there’s been more accidents and some other teenagers are out there being foolish. I wish I could stay…”

“Go Daddy, it’s fine,” Emma replied groggily.

He kissed her forehead, trying not to react to the icy skin. “I’m sure your mom will take care of the lecture.”

 

He kissed his wife before leaving. Mary wrapped the outer blanket around her tighter.

  
“Are you warming up?”

Emma slowly nodded. “Yeah.”

“Alright, stay put. I’m going to go make you some hot tea.” She wasn’t gone very long or maybe she was, the teenager was still trying to recover. Her body was slowly warming up, but she felt so groggy and tired. Mary was soon thrusting a warm mug into her hand, a large one. She recognized it as David’s, he used it for coffee when he had to work a morning shift after a night one. She began to sip it, spilling a little as she did.

“Mommy, I’m sorry,” she muttered.

“I’m sure you are.” Mary stroked her cheek. “When I tell you not to do something, I know what I’m talking about. You could’ve been seriously injured.”

“I know that now.”

“I think whatever the aftermath of this will be enough punishment.”

“I’m so tired.”

“Just try drinking more of the tea before you go to sleep, I want you to be as warm as possible and not develop hypothermia.”

 

Emma nodded again and drank as much as she could before trying to set it down, nearly dropping it in the process. Mary took the drink from her and set it on the table. She had Emma get under the covers for more warmth and her favorite green eyes slowly shut.

 

Mary let out a sigh, pushing back her hair. Emma was too stubborn for her own good. She was a good kid and didn’t meant to cause trouble, but she didn’t think things through all the way. Most teenagers didn’t. Hopefully, this would teach her. Maybe that sounded harsh, but Mary didn’t mean it that way. She just wanted what was best for her.

 

She quickly phoned Whale and he said that unless her temperature spiked or she didn’t warm up, that she didn’t need to come in. He also urged her to make sure she didn’t get too warm, because that could make things worse. The doctor suspected she could end up with pneumonia, but it may not go that far since she was rescued quickly and also urged her to keep the inhaler close by.

 

Mary hung up with him, feeling a little better. While Emma slept, she made sure she’d be prepared to handle anything that could happen. After a couple of hours, she headed upstairs to see her daughter waking up.

 

“Hey baby, how are you feeling?”

“Hot,” she mumbled. “Can we get rid of some of the layers?”

“Sure, I think you’ve had time to warm up.” She placed a hand on her cheek and noticed that it was warmer, though she wasn’t sure if that was because she was developing a fever. The brunette helped the blonde take away some of the blankets and Emma removed the thermal shorts, though she kept sweats, turtleneck and her dad’s shirt on. It was the second time she was wearing it while being sick and it brought her the same comfort that her baby blanket did. “Whale said you should do some puffs on your inhaler, just to make sure your lungs stay healthy.”

 

Emma sighed, but obliged and took some medicine as well. She wasn’t shaking anymore but felt terrible. Her head was pounding and her throat was scratchy.

 

“I hate ice,” she stated, finally.

Mary laughed. “It wasn’t the ice, sweets.”

“I should’ve listened to you.”

“Yes, Mother Knows Best.”

The blonde giggled. “You sound like Mother Gothel.”

“Maybe she was onto something.” Mary winked. “We could watch that if you want.”

“Okay.” Emma smiled a little as her mom slid in the movie and laid beside her. She snuggled up against her mom and they watched it.

“You sort of look like her, you know,” Mary pointed out when they showed a teenage version of Rapunzel.

“You think?” Emma didn’t see it at all.

“Definitely. I don’t look like Mother Gothel do I?”

Emma let out a childish giggle. “No. You’re like Snow White.”

“Really?”

“Uh huh.”

 

Emma shivered a little and Mary gave her a Look.

  
“I thought you said you had warmed up.”

“I did. Sort of.”

“Why don’t you take a bath, sweets?”

“But we’re watching the movie.”

“You need it.”

 

Emma sighed.

 

“But that would mean I couldn’t wear Dad’s shirt afterwards.”

 

The brunette chuckled and helped her get out of bed.

 

“I’ll get you another one, come on.”

 

Emma let her mother go into the bathroom to start the bath first and then Mary gave her some privacy to get undressed and into the tub. She soaked in it for a long time, allowing her thoughts to drift. Before she knew it, she was asleep again.

 

After about an hour, a knock on the door snapped her out of her slumber.

 

“Mmm…”

“Emma?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you fall asleep?”

“No.”

“Uh huh. Sure.”

“I’ll get out now.”

 

She slowly got out of the tub and wrapped a huge towel around herself. Mary had left some clothes for her, so she dressed as quickly as possible, buttoning up another one of David’s shirts over one of her long sleeved ones. She was pulling on her pants when she heard voices coming from down stairs. She headed down there, slowly, she was still a little weak from the fever and could see her mother talking to someone, a tall figure who’s back was to the blonde’s. Mary saw her and then looked back at the person in front of her.

 

“You need to go, now.” Emma had never heard Mary’s voice like that, not even when she was in trouble. It was fierce and protective.

 

The figure turned around. He was an older man with graying brown hair and green eyes. A smirk played across his lips as he stared at Emma.

 

“She sure looks like David for being your foster kid,” he said.

“I told you to leave. Don’t make me call my husband, the sheriff.”

“Mom, what’s going on?” Emma asked, finishing her walk down the stairs. Mary walked over and cupped her face.

“Go back upstairs, sweets.”

“You’re letting her call you Mom already? Really, Mary Margaret? I know how desperate you were for a child but this is a bit much.”

Mary’s eyes stayed on Emma’s. “Go back up, we can finish our movie.”

“What’s going on?” Emma insisted.

“Let her stay, I should get to know my…well I guess she’s my granddaughter, isn’t she?”

The blonde arched an eyebrow. “Is this your father?”

Mary sighed. “Yes, and he’s leaving.”

“You can’t just make changes in your life and not inform me,” the man interjected.

“My life isn’t a concern of yours, Dad,” she said the last word sarcastically. “It hasn’t been since you refused to come to my wedding. You don’t get to know when the good things happen, including me becoming a mother.”

“You’ll never be a mother, you can’t even get pregnant.” And with that, he was gone.

 

Mary took her daughter’s shoulders.

  
“Don’t listen to him, okay?” She faked a smile. “I am a mother.”

“Alright. But are you okay?”

“I’m fine, sweets. Really. You should be relaxing.” She felt her forehead. “You have a fever.”

“The bath helped warm me up.”

“That’s good. Now go, we can finish our movie.”

 

Emma hesitated but headed up the stairs and back into the bedroom. She settled onto the bed and soon her mom was back in the room. She grabbed the brush and sat beside her, brushing the blonde locks. Emma gently leaned into her.

 

“I hope he didn’t scare you,” Mary muttered.

“No. He was so mean to you, though.”

“I told you he doesn’t approve of my life.”

“How did you give it all up?”

“Because true love trumps all the money in the world.” She paused. “Seriously, do not listen to him about the mother thing.”

“I’m not…but I can tell it’s getting to you.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Mom. I’m not stupid.”

She sighed, continuing to brush. “I know I’m your mother, that’s all that matters.”

Emma bit her lip. “What if you got pregnant?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“But what if it did? I was reading this article about a couple that tried for like 20 years, then they adopted a kid and ended up pregnant.”

“Well…then I’d be pregnant. And you’d have a little brother or sister.”

“So you’d still want me?”

“Of course I would. You will always be my first child, no matter what.”

“And you’re a mother, even if you weren’t pregnant with me.” She looked up into the brunette’s eyes.

 A small smile, a real one, went across Mary’s face. “Look at my baby, trying to cheer me up.” She kissed the center of Emma’s forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“A little dizzy,” she admitted.

“I’ll make you something to eat once I’m done.”

 

Emma didn’t even protest. Normally, she would be telling Mary that she could handle things on her own, but after that little show with her father, she wanted to give her something. The two ate lunch and finished up the movie. They didn’t say anything else about their unexpected visitor, they just enjoyed their time together.


	13. First Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter talks about molestation and other triggery topics. Read at your own risk.

A few days later, David sat behind his desk at the sheriff’s station. Emma was doing better, she was able to go to school Monday morning. Mary had also seemed to have recovered from her father’s visit, after she convinced her husband to not go kill him. Though, he could tell his words were still bothering her. She felt like Emma’s mother, there was no questioning it. But she had her own insecurities about not being able to get pregnant. It made her feel like less of a woman sometimes and no matter what David said, she couldn’t shake it. He hated seeing her that way. Though he did share one fear with her…that one day Emma would stop seeing them as her parents.

 

The phone rang, breaking his thoughts. He reached over, answering it.

 

“Sheriff Nolan, how can I assist you?”

“Hello Mr. Nolan, this is Helen Walters.”

“Helen, we haven’t heard from you in a while,” he replied, leaning back into his seat.

“Yes, I know, I apologize, my caseload is insane,” the social worker replied. “How is Emma doing?”

“As best she can.” He wasn’t sure if he should tell her about the visits with Archie, he didn’t want her to think they couldn’t handle it. “We really love having her and the sooner we’re able to adopt her, the better.”

“That’s great to hear. But I do have some bad news.”

The blonde felt his stomach sink and his mind began to race. Was she going to try to take Emma back? Did a relative emerge from the woodwork? He couldn’t lose his daughter! He loved her so much already. And Mary...oh no, Mary…

“Mr. Nolan?”

“I’m, uh sorry. What’s the bad news?”

“Emma’s biological father is out of prison.”

David shot up in his seat. “Excuse me?”

“He was up for parole this past week and it was granted. A condition of it is that he has absolutely no contact with Emma.”

“Good, good.” He ran a hand through his hair. This was the last thing Emma needed, the stress of worrying about him. “And that shouldn’t change, right?”

“The protection order lasts until she is eighteen, after that she’ll have to bring it back to court.”

That pissed him off, but it was better than nothing. “Does he know she’s going to be adopted?”

“No. Since he has no parental rights, what happens to Emma is none of his concern.”

“Thank God.”

“I just wanted to let you know in case he does try to reach out. He shouldn’t be able to, but just in case.”

“And where is he?”

“He was released from a prison in Boston and he’s not allowed to leave the state.”

 

This all comforted him. He thanked Helen and promised to pass the news along to his wife. Though he wasn’t sure how. He wanted more than anything to rip this guy to shreds, but Mary was even worse. She had written letters to the parole board, just in case he was ever eligible.

 

He looked over at the clock, he could head home now. Graham was out on a call, but he would be back later. He got up, grabbed his stuff and went to his truck. Soon, he was parking in the driveway and going inside. The smell of cinnamon and chocolate hit him the second he walked through the door. When he entered the kitchen, he saw Mary and Emma baking. Both had huge smiles on their faces and were laughing and dancing to Christmas carols. His daughter must have been having a good day, which was a relief. Sunday night she had a nightmare and it had left her down for a few days. The sight caused him to half-smile himself.

 

“What’s going on here?”

Emma looked up. “Mom and I are just practicing for Christmas. I still suck at this.”

“No you don’t, you’re a natural.” Mary beamed at her husband, but could see right through his fake half-smile. “Um, sweets, these just need to be put in the oven. I’ll do that, why don’t you go start on your homework.”

“Okay.” She took off her apron and kissed David’s cheek before heading upstairs.

“What’s wrong?”

“How can you tell something’s wrong?”

“Because I know you, David.” Mary slid the cookies into the oven and removed her own apron. “What’s going on?”

He drew a deep breath. “I got a call from Helen today.”

“Did you tell her about Archie?”

“No. But uh…” He lowered his voice. “Emma’s biological father is out of prison.”

Mary’s eyes widened, anger slowly filling her body. “No.”

“Mary…”

“No! This isn’t happening. He…he did disgusting, terrible…” She clenched her teeth. No amount of words was going to describe that man. “He hurt that baby! I wrote all those letters!”

“I know, my love, I know.” He pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight.

“Oh God David, what if he tries to come for her?” Tears gathered in her eyes.

“There’s a no contact order in place, he won’t be able to. He doesn’t even know that she’s with us, his parental rights are stripped. He is not her father.”

“Of course he’s not,” Mary wiped the few tears that fell and looked up at him. “You are.”

“Now the big question…how do we tell her?”

“Or do we even need to?”

“Mary Margaret…”

“Just hear me out.” She got out of his grip. “There’s a no contact order. He can’t call her or come see her, he doesn’t even know where she is. So, why should she know?”

“What if she finds out on her own?”

“Then she never has to know that we knew. Come on, her social worker never checks up on her. It was just another thing to slip through the cracks.”

 

David gnawed on his lip. He didn’t want to lie to Emma, he never had before. He had promised when she came here that he would be a 100% honest with her, no matter what.

 

“I can’t lie to her, Mary,” he said.

“It’s not a lie. She’s not asking.” He gave her a look and she sighed. “I know, but we’re lying to protect her. She’s in therapy, but this could cause more nightmares and panic attacks than necessary.”

It was David’s turn to sigh. The more his wife talked about it, the more he knew she was probably right. “How about this, we ask Archie for advice. He’ll know the best way to handle it with Emma’s condition.”

“That seems fair.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t get how these guys just get to roam free.”

“Me either babe, me either.”

* * *

The following day, Mary walked into Archie’s office 15 minutes early. Emma was going to be meeting her there, she was walking from school. She had her last track practice and couldn’t miss it. The brunette was thankful for this time. She had already phoned the therapist to request they talk a little before the appointment. The back door opened and the red head stepped out, a smile on his face.

 

“Mary, come on.” He stepped aside and she adjusted her purse, walking in. “How’s teacher life treating you?”

“Very well, how have you been?”

“I’ve been great.” He offered her some tea and she politely declined. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Yesterday, David got a call from Emma’s social worker. Apparently, her biological father is out of prison.”

“Oh my,” Archie frowned. “How is Emma handling all this?”

“That’s the thing…we haven’t told her yet.”

“And you wanted my advice?”

“Yes.” She gave him a small smile. “I’m just so lost. I don’t want to tell her, but David pointed out if we don’t, then we’re lying. I just want to do the right thing here.”

“Well, I know Emma is in a fragile state right now. She’s just beginning to open up about what that man did to her. However,” he adjusted his glasses. “I do believe it’s important that she knows. That way, she can work through the emotions.”

“I see,” Mary bit her lip.

“I know that’s not the answer you wanted.”

“I wanted your advice and I got it.”

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. “You’re a good mother, Mary. You truly care about her and want to protect her. You just can’t from this.” She merely nodded, knowing he was right. “If you want, I could help you tell her today.”

“No, no, I’ll tell her with David tonight, I think it’d be better coming from us.”

“Whatever you like. And if she needs to see me again this week, give me a call. I just had a patient drop their Friday appointment.”

Mary’s smile grew. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, Archie, I really have.”

“It’s no trouble.”

 

The two headed back out into the waiting room just as Emma walked in.

 

“Hey sweets, how was practice?” Mary injured.

“It was okay,” she said, swinging her backpack a bit.

“Well let’s go back inside, shall we?” Archie asked, guiding them in. Mary didn’t attend every session, but after her nightmare Sunday night, Emma had suggested for her mother to be there. The girls sat on their couch, while Archie settled into his chair. “Have you been journaling your dreams?”

“Yes, I had a nightmare on Sunday,” Emma replied.

“Do you feel comfortable sharing what it was about?”

“Um, yeah,” the blonde bit her lip. “It was a flashback; I guess you could say.”

“Go on.”

She drew a deep breath and shut her eyes. “I was probably four or five. I was hiding in my room while Ed,” she couldn’t even call him her biological father anymore. “Came in. He was mad at me for hiding. He said that I was being naughty and that I should come out and say hi to everyone.”

“And did you?”

She shook her head and her breath hitched. “I said I didn’t feel well…maybe I really didn’t, I can’t remember. He didn’t believe me anyway. So he said if I wouldn’t, then he would have to punish me.”

“How did he punish you?”

Tears sprung to her eyes, but she kept her eyes shut so they wouldn’t fall. She could feel her mom grip her hand beside her. “He took off his pants and…and boxers…and then he um…he asked me to touch…touch it.” A chill ran down her spine and her heart was racing quickly.

“Maybe that’s enough,” Mary whispered.

“No,” Emma said. Her eyes opened. “I have to finish this.”

“Go on Em, you’re doing such a great job,” Archie told her, encouragingly.

“Mom if you don’t think you can hear this, than maybe you should…”

“It’s fine baby, I’m right here,” Mary told her, squeezing her hand.

Emma nodded. “Well, I didn’t want to. So he…he grabbed my hand and made me. I didn’t like it and I told him to stop. He said it was his body, so he made the rules.”

 

Anger radiated in Mary’s body. This man was seriously sick.

 

“Then he took off my dress and got out a camera. He made me…” Her breathing started to go uneven as tears poured down her cheeks. The camera had always been the worst part of it all. “He would touch me with one hand while he took pictures with the other.” She could still feel the pain. “It hurt, really, really badly. And every time I said stop, he’d tell me what a naughty girl I was and that if I was good, he wouldn’t have to do this.” Her voice cracked. “I just…I wanted to be a good girl.” She buried her head in her hands. Mary pulled her into her arms, holding her close. Emma’s breathing was going out of control and her mom grabbed her inhaler from her backpack and held it to her mouth. It was the first resort before the pills. Emma took a few puffs and the breathing began to even itself out again.

 

Archie held out some tissues for Emma and she took them, appreciatively. “You were not a bad kid, Emma.”

“You…you weren’t there,” she stuttered. “Maybe I was.”

“Even if you had been, that is not an appropriate punishment, whatsoever. He had no right to violate you like that. You were a child and his job was to love you, to protect you. He hurt you and that wasn’t okay. No one deserves that.”

 

The words echoed in Mary’s head. He was right, no child did deserve that. And a parent’s job _was_ to protect their own.

 

Emma couldn’t even handle talking about her past without a breakdown. How could she confront it without one? Yes, she had the right to know. But not then, not when she was still so fragile and vulnerable. They would tell her one day, when she was better. Archie said she would probably always have some version of her PTSD, but that it would just be better treated. She had just started therapy not too long ago. It was all still new. It wasn’t the time and it wouldn’t be for a while.

 

“I just get scared when I heard the word punishment,” Emma’s whisper broke Mary out of her thoughts. “I know my parents would never hurt me like that, I just always associate it with that…or other things.”

“Other things like what?”

“In foster homes…food was often a punishment. If you mouthed off or did something they considered wrong and for some that was just uh, breathing,” she sighed. “They’d withhold meals. Sometimes it was just the classic, go to bed without dinner. Other times, it would be days.”

Mary gasped, pulling her daughter close. “We would _never_ do that to you, Emma.”

“I know, I know. It’s still hard.”

“You do know the difference between those punishments and how your parents now might, correct?” Archie asked.

“Yes, I know now that it’s because they love me and want what’s best. And the punishments are never unfair either,” she gave Mary a small smile. “It’s just a lot to adjust to…and sometimes I feel like I’ve been with them forever. Other times though, I remember it’s only been a few months and it’s a lot to take on. To understand that I have people that care.” She drew a deep breath. “I’m not use to someone putting me first.”

Mary touched her cheek and Emma looked up at her. “Well, get used to it,” she whispered.

* * *

The session ended not long after that and the girls headed home. Like after most appointments, Emma went upstairs to lay down. They took a lot out of her and she needed to rest. Mary sat with her while she did, still scared that she’d hurt herself. After a while, she headed downstairs and started on dinner. David was already down there, looking at something on his laptop.

  
“We can’t tell her,” Mary said, suddenly.

“Mary,” David lowered the screen.

“Seriously, David.”

“What did Archie say?”

“To tell her, so she could process the emotions.”

“Then we should…”

“No, David. You didn’t see her today. She was talking about a nightmare and completely lost it. That man hurt her.”

“We already knew that.”

“Yes, but listening to her talk about it…it broke my heart.” She walked over and sat beside him. “Archie said something else, about real parents. Real parents protect their children.”

“We are protecting her, that man can’t harm her.”

“Not physically, but he’s left scars that still hurt and this will just be adding salt to the wound. Please David, I know I can’t make you do anything but I really don’t think that telling her is the right thing. We need to give her time to heal.”

 

David looked into his wife’s eyes. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. He hadn’t seen her this vulnerable since the doctor told them that a baby probably wasn’t going to happen. Then, she had been mourning the loss of what could’ve been. Now, she had her baby. Her perfect, amazing angel. _Their_ perfect, amazing angel. He related to his spouse on wanting to protect their little girl. She was theirs and it was up to them and them alone to help her. Maybe in the long run, Emma would actually thank her for it.

 

“Alright, we won’t tell her.”

Mary smiled. “Really?”

“Yes. But I won’t lie to her face. If for whatever reason she asks…”

“She won’t.”

“But if she does, then we tell her. No exceptions or exclusions.”

“That’s fair.”

“Good. And this needs to be the last time we lie to her. I hate doing this. I know it’s for her own good, but if we want her to be honest with us, we need to be honest with her.”

Mary sighed but nodded. “You’re right, you’re right.” David kissed her lips. “What was that for?”

“I remember when I brought Emma’s file to the diner that day. You were so hesitant about bringing her into our lives.”

Mary frowned. “I feel guilty about that now.”

“You shouldn’t, it was completely normal.”

“Still, she needed us.”

“And she’s with us now. My point is, a few months ago we didn’t even know this girl and now you’re doing all you can to protect her, it’s just really sweet.”

“I’d move Heaven and Earth if it meant keeping her happy and safe.”

“As would I, my love, as would I.” He rubbed noses with her, causing his wife to smile and rest her forehead against his. Their lips reconnected for a few moments and they savored each other. Finally, Mary pulled off, a smile still on her fac

“She’ll probably be asleep for a while, you know.”

“I like the way you think.” He lifted her into his arms, bridal style which caused a giggle to escape her lips and he carried her up the stairs.

 

Emma woke up an hour later to the smell of dinner cooking. She headed down and slid into her seat at the table. David sat next to her, putting an arm around her.

 

“Hey Princess,” he whispered softly.

“Hi Daddy.” She put her head on his shoulder and he kissed her head.

“Mama told me you had a pretty intense session.”

“I did.”

“Wanna talk about it?” She shook her head. “Okay, just let me know if you do.”

“I will.”

 

Mary carried over the pasta and set it on the table, before settling into her own seat. Emma reluctantly pulled away from her father and started eating. The family chatted about other parts of their days and soon Thanksgiving came up.

 

“We normally don’t do anything here,” Mary said. “There’s a potluck at Granny’s that almost everyone goes to.”

“Sounds like fun,” Emma said. Her mother paid close attention to her as she ate. Until Emma’s revelation in therapy about food, she had never noticed how quickly the young girl ate. “We never really celebrated Thanksgivings in foster homes. If we were in a group home, we’d do something small but typically the older kids didn’t think it was cool. Last year, we…” She trailed off, remembering where she was.

Mary raised an eyebrow. “What’d you do?”

She sighed, moving the food around her plate. “We snuck into an R rated movie.” Mary couldn’t help but laugh and David gave her a Look.

“Don’t encourage that behavior, Mary.”

“It’s just sweet, I remember doing the same thing when I was too young to get in.”

“Well there’s a reason those movies have ratings,” David lectured.

Emma rolled her eyes. “I won’t do it again, Dad.”

“Good. I’m the sheriff, I can’t have my own kid breaking the law.”

“A youthful indiscretion, David,” Mary told him, waving it off.

 

Emma did find the whole thing humorous. Typically Mary was the one to be a little stricter and enforce the rules. She had only seen David get like this at the mention of her dating.

 

“I’m married to and am raising a delinquent,” he muttered.

“Really Daddy?” Emma gave him her puppy dog eyes.

David let out a sigh and kissed her forehead. “Those eyes aren’t fair.”

 

Later that night, Emma fell asleep on top of her covers in her pajamas, reading a book. David came in with Mary to check on her and smiled. He pulled up the sheets and blankets, pulling them over her and kissed her forehead. She looked so innocent when she slept, so perfect. Like an angel.

 

“We’re doing the right thing,” he muttered. “She doesn’t need to know.”


	14. Date Night

“We need a date night.”

 

Those five words snapped Mary’s head up from the homework she was grading. She typically didn’t give any, but her class had been particularly rowdy a couple days prior, so she had assigned the work they didn’t finish. It was a Saturday morning, not long after Thanksgiving. Emma still didn’t know about Ed being out of prison. The secret was lying heavily on David, he wanted to tell her, but he also knew it could undo the progress she was making with Archie. It wasn’t quick, but it was progress nonetheless. Things were going better than ever. Emma still had nightmares, but she was opening up more and more.

 

“Excuse me?”

“A date night,” David repeated. “Us, dinner, a walk around the square, just like old times.”

“We can’t go on a date, David, what about Emma?”

“You mean our _13-year-old_ daughter?” He cocked an eyebrow. “I think she could stay home alone.”

“I don’t know…” Mary set her pen down. “She’s still recovering.”

“She hasn’t hurt herself since it happened and her therapy is working.”

“But it’s not perfect. She still has bad days, nightmares…”

“I know. But come on, Mary,” he sat down next to her. “I love her and I’m not sure about leaving her either, but we haven’t had a night to ourselves since she came. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but it’s healthy for parents to leave their child.”

Mary bit her lip. “What about a babysitter?”

“She won’t go for that, plus who’s going to want to babysit someone her age?”

“I can’t leave her alone, David. I just don’t feel right about it.” She knew she was being overprotective, but she didn’t care. This was her baby.

“How about this? We tell her to invite Lily over.” Mary chuckled. “What?”

“You’re so desperate for alone time, you’re going to let her invite Lily over. You always say what a bad influence she is.”

“She convinced our daughter to go to a party and ice skate on a barely frozen lake!” David exclaimed.

“Yes, but our daughter has a mind of her own and agreed to those things.”

He rolled his eyes. “I just know it’d make you feel better if someone was here. So she can invite Lily or Ruby, then she won’t be alone the entire time.”

Mary sighed. He was right. They did need this. Their marriage wasn’t in trouble or anything, but in order for it to stay that way, they would need some alone time. “Alright, alright.”

David grinned. “Awesome. I’ll go talk to Emma about it.”

 

Emma was on her laptop, looking over some Christmas gift ideas. The holiday was rapidly approaching and she wanted to give her parents something really great. In just a short amount of time they had become a family and she wanted to prove it. She just wasn’t sure what would exactly qualify. She had told them not to get her anything, she never celebrated Christmas growing up and just being with them was enough for her. But from the look in her parents’ eyes, she could tell they weren’t going to listen.

 

There was a knock on her open door. She looked up and saw David standing there.

 

“Hey Princess,” he said, a smile on his face.

“Hey.” She shut her laptop. “What’s up?”

“Your mom and I are going out tonight.”

“It’s about time, you haven’t been on a date the entire time I’ve been here.”

He smiled a bit. “Well we wanted to get you settled.”

“You don’t need to put your lives on hold for me.”

“You’re our baby, you come first.” He kissed her head. “Anyway, Mama’s a bit apprehensive about leaving you alone.”

Emma frowned. “She doesn’t trust me?”

“No, it’s not that at all,” David assured her. “She’s just worried that something will happen and you’ll be alone.”

The tiny blonde feared where this was going. “I don’t need a babysitter!”

“That’s what I told her.” He laughed as his daughter sighed in relief. “I convinced her that you’d be fine if you just invited Ruby or Lily over.”

“You suggested me inviting Lily over. You don’t like Lily.”

“I like her fine.”

“You always say she’s a bad influence.”

“You’ve made bad choices around her.”

“Yeah, choices I made. Need I remind you, Ruby was there too and you love her.”

“Alright, alright. I’m working on it, okay?”

Emma giggled. “I’m just giving you a hard time.”

David messed up her hair. “Anyway, would you mind giving them a call? You can order pizza and hang out or do whatever, it’s just the only way your mom is agreeing to this.”

“Of course. I was going to ask Lily to hang out anyway.”

“Great. No boys.”

She rolled her eyes. “Daddy, I’m not that kind of kid.”

“That includes Baelfire.”

“I figured considering he has outdoor plumbing…”

“Just covering my bases.”

“We’re just friends anyway.”

“I know, because you’re not dating for another 50 years. But you’re too young to be alone with boys, even if they’re just friends.”

“Now who’s being overprotective?”

David smirked. “I have to be when I have the prettiest princess.” He kissed her head and walked out.

 

Emma texted Lily and Ruby, inviting them over for the night. Ruby had to work, one of the waitresses had called out for the dinner rush, but Lily was up to it. Emma was happy and not just because her best friend was coming over. She did feel guilty that her parents spent so much time obsessing over her. She knew she took up a lot of their attention. She may have found their displays of affection gross, but it was also really sweet. She loved their story, Mary had given up a lot to be with David and she didn’t regret it. He was so devoted for her, sometimes he brought home flowers for no reason. Back in the system, she had seen her foster fathers do it and know it was for cheating. But with David, she could tell it was just because he was in love. The brunette always had a specific smile on her face when he was around. Sure they had their disagreements, but it was romantic.

 

“If I ever decide to date, I want something like that,” she muttered to herself one night when she came home from Ruby’s and found them snuggled up on the couch watching a movie. They had then of course pulled her down to watch it with them, which just made her smile more.

* * *

That night, Emma laid on Mary and David’s bed while her mom got ready at the dresser. David was downstairs, having gotten dressed and prepared a while ago. Emma watched her mother put on her makeup.

 

“You’re really pretty,” she said.

“Thank you, sweets, so are you,” Mary replied as she put on some blush.

“When can I wear makeup?”

“Why do you want to?”

Emma shrugged. “I just do.”

“Come here.” She patted the stool next to her and Emma walked over, sitting down. “Just a little, so your father doesn’t kill me.”

The blonde smiled. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Mary smiled a little herself as she applied light blush to Emma’s cheeks. “So, are you sure you’re going to be okay by yourself?”

“I’m not by myself, I’ll have Lily.”

“I know, I’ve just never left you alone in the house before, even with a friend.”

“I go out with my friends all the time and you’re not there,” Emma pointed out.

“Yes but I know all the places you go and they’re safe,” Mary found some lip gloss that would look good on her and applied it. “I just don’t want you to have a nightmare or need me and me not be here.”

“I’ll be fine, Mama,” she said. “You don’t have to worry.”

“I’m a mom, it’s my job. I know I can be a tad overprotective…”

“A tad?” Emma cocked an eyebrow and Mary rolled her eyes.

“Alright, I’m very overprotective, but I can’t help it. I just don’t want anything bad happening to you.”

“And nothing will.”

Mary smiled and kissed her forehead, adding a little eyeshadow to the young girl’s eyes. “There we go. You don’t need it, though.”

“You can’t really tell I’m wearing any.”

“That’s the secret.”

David called up to them from the living room. “Em, Lily’s here!”

“We better get downstairs before Dad interrogates her.” Emma stood up and Mary cupped her face. “Mom?”

“Oh my baby.” She wrapped her arms around her, kissing her head. Emma sighed and hugged her tighter.

“I’ll be fine. And I’ll call you if anything goes wrong, but it won’t.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

 

The girls went down and found David and Lily talking.

  
“No fires,” David told his daughter’s friend.

Lily smiled. “Of course not, Mr. Nolan.”

“No parties and absolutely no boys.”

“Really? Because I was thinking about inviting the Jones brothers over,” she replied, sarcastically.

David’s eyes snapped to Mary. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”

“Thanks Lily,” Emma said, shoving her. Lily giggled and threw her arms around her friend.

“I promise; I won’t let a bad thing happen to Emmy. We’ll be on our best behavior.”

“I’m sure you will,” Mary replied with a smile. She looked over at her daughter. “Okay, so you have our numbers obviously, but I left the number for the restaurant along with Dr. Whale’s and Dr. Hopper’s…”

“Did you write down 9-1-1, too?” Emma joked but panic went across her mother’s face. “I’m joking, Mama.”

“Don’t do that!” She hugged her tight for about the millionth time that night.

“Come on Mary, the girls will be fine,” David said. He was nervous too, but one of them had to be strong.

His wife sighed and kissed Emma’s forehead. “Call us if you need anything.”

“I will, now go have fun.” She kissed her mother’s cheek and then hugged David. “Bye, Dad.”

“Bye Princess,” he replied, kissing the top of her head. A small amount of blush spread across her cheeks as she heard Lily giggling at her nickname. “Remember…”

“No boys, I know.”

“I was going to say “I love you”, but that works too,” he smirked and gave her head another kiss before linking arms with Mary and leaving.

“Shut up,” Emma said before she could even turn around and look at Lily.

“What? I didn’t say anything…Princess.” She poked Emma’s sides, causing her to roll her eyes.

“They are so embarrassing,” she groaned. “Like I’m five or something.”

“It’s sweet, though. You can tell how much they love you.”

The blonde smiled. “Yeah.”

 

She did complain a lot about them being overprotective, but she was just getting used to it. Like she had told Archie, she wasn’t used to people putting her first and now that they did, it was nice. David’s princess remarks could get embarrassing, but deep down she didn’t mind the nickname.

 

“Are they going to foster more kids?” Lily asked as they walked into the other room.

“I’m uh, not sure. It hasn’t come up.”

“Because then you’d have brothers or sisters.”

 

Emma had never thought about it. She knew that they were adopting a teenager and it meant that they didn’t have an actual baby to take care of. She wasn’t sure how she felt about siblings, but pushed the thought out of her mind. She wasn’t even technically adopted yet, so she was sure that wasn’t even on their minds at the moment either.

* * *

David soon pulled up in front of the restaurant they were going to, it wasn’t too far out of Storybrooke, which he knew would make his wife feel better. The two walked inside and were seated fairly quickly. Both ordered wine and sat there in silence for a minute.

 

“Maybe I should call…” Mary reached for her purse when David took her hand.

“She’s fine.”

“But I…”

“Mary, she’s fine.”

She sighed. “Are you not worried?”

“Of course I am, she’s our daughter and we’ve never left her before. But she’ll be fine.” He lifted her hand up and kissed her fingers, causing a smile to go across his wife’s face. “There’s that smile.”

“You sure know how to distract a woman.” She leaned across the table, kissing his lips before looking out the window. “Oh David, it’s snowing.” She beamed brighter. “I love snow.”

“I know you do. Can you believe Christmas is coming up so soon?”

“It’s insane how fast time goes. We need to start decorating.”

“It’ll be such fun. We need to get Emma some ornaments of her own.”

“I’ll work on it, my love.”

 

Mary and David had been buying each other ornaments since they were dating. Not just at Christmas either. Anytime they saw one that reminded them of the other, they’d purchase it.

 

“She really wants nothing,” David continued.

“Or so she says. She’s thirteen, she must want something. She’s never had a Christmas before, she probably doesn’t know what to ask for.”

“Well what do we get her?”

“I already picked up a few things, just some stuff from Ashley’s store. Some makeup…”

David gave her a Look. “She is far too young.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “She’s thirteen, I was a little younger when I started. I put some on her tonight and she loved it. It’s nothing bold, just subtle colors.”

“Alright, but I still stand on no boys.”

“Of course, she’s still in junior high. But anyway, I was thinking maybe I would give her my mother’s ring.”

David raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“I always thought I would give it to my daughter and I have one now.”

“I’m sure she’ll love that.” He kissed her. “I actually had an idea. I was thinking about all the stuff we missed with her, we can’t get that time back.”

“Sadly.”

“But,” he smiled. “She doesn’t know how to ride a bike. I figured we could get her one.”

“Oh David, she’ll love that! She was talking the other day about learning to ride on mine once it was warmer, but this will be perfect.”

“And I’ll teach her in the spring.”

“She’ll love it.” She kissed him again.

 

The two spent the rest of dinner talking about themselves, Emma working her way into the conversation every so often. But for the most part they talked about work and memories from past Christmases. A year before was when Mary had thought she was pregnant. The test had come back positive on Christmas Eve. She and David were so excited. They spent the entire day discussing baby names and the fact that the next Christmas they would have a child to share it with. They would name the baby, Ruth, for a girl, James for a boy, both after people that David had lost. It was the most excited they had felt in years.

 

And then they went to the doctor to confirm the pregnancy…only to find out that it was a false positive. Mary had cried for days. She spent her entire break holed up in her room. It wasn’t a miscarriage, there had never been a baby at all. But they had lost the idea of their child. She never allowed herself to get excited over testing again. She never had a false positive again, but every time she took a test, it was as if she knew. It wasn’t going to come back with that little pink plus sign and if it did, it probably wasn’t real.

 

After dinner, the two were walking along, enjoying the pretty Christmas lights strung everywhere.

 

“Hey, so Emma doesn’t have a middle name,” Mary said.

“Oh?”

“Yeah and when we adopt her, we’ll have to change her last name, so maybe we should give her one.”

He gave her a puzzled look. “What are you trying to say?”

“If you’re okay with it…I wanted to ask her if we could give her a middle name…Ruth.”

David smiled. “Emma Ruth.”

“I know that’s what we were going to name that baby…the one that wasn’t even real but…”

“I always wanted to name my daughter Ruth, in some way or another.” He pulled his wife close. “This is perfect. Think she’ll say yes?”

“To make you happy? Of course.”

“I don’t want her to do it just for that.”

“I’m sure she’d be honored to share a name with your mother.” She leaned up and kissed his lips.  “A year ago, I didn’t even think we’d be getting this chance.”

“I was right, we do get to celebrate our baby’s first Christmas,” he replied, kissing her back.

“Thank you,” she said suddenly.

“What for?”

“For getting me out of the house. It _is_ nice,” Mary admitted, blushing a bit. “I am still worried about Emma, but I always worry and probably always will. Still…” She slid her hand into his, wrapping her petite fingers around his long ones. “It’s nice to remember why I fell in love you.”

David grinned, kissing her again. “We’ll do it more often. Maybe one day you’ll even let Emma stay home alone.” His wife quickly shook her head no, causing him to laugh. “I love you, you crazy overprotective thing.”

* * *

The couple walked through the door of their home an hour later. Emma lay on the couch, watching T.V. She muted it when she saw them and smiled.

 

“How was your date?”

“It was amazing, I missed you though,” Mary added, cupping Emma’s face with her hands, cold from being outside.

Emma giggled. “You were gone just a few hours, Mama.”

“Still missed you.” She kissed her head. “Where’s Lily?”

“She had to head home, curfew and all that. But look, the house is still standing, I’m fine, no nightmares or anything.” She smirked at her father. “And our boyfriends just left 20 minutes ago.”

David rolled his eyes. “I’m going to lock you in a tower until I die.”

“How very Gothel of you.”

“Well, I have to protect my princess from evil dragons.”

Mary chuckled. “As fun as this banter is, it’s getting pretty late.” She looked around and saw the table covered in junk food wrappers, pizza boxes, an empty ice cream carton, as well as two particular cups that Mary recognized. “Is that coffee?”

“Um…no?” Emma responded, blush coming to her face.

“Emma,” Mary said.

“Oh my God, you’re using that voice.”

“What voice?”

“Your motherly one, the one you use whenever you’re warning me about something.”

“Well, I’m a mother. So fess up.”

“Mrs. Page may have brought us coffee…”

Mary rolled her eyes. “When your brain turns to soup, you’ll be sorry.”

“I feel perfectly fine.”

“Uh huh.”

“You’re not mad at me, are you?” The tiny blonde looked up at her mother and pouted.

Mary sighed. “Of course not, how could I be mad at that face?” She kissed her forehead. “But now, it is time for bed.”

 

Emma poked out her tongue, but got up and hugged her dad.

 

“Night Daddy, love you.”

“Goodnight Princess, I love you too.”

 

She hugged Mary.

 

“Love you, Mama.”

“I love you too, sweets. Sweet dreams.” She kissed her head and watched Emma go up the stairs.  David wrapped his arms around her waist and nibbled on her neck. “I take it you want to head up to bed, too?”

“Yes, but I have no intentions of sleeping.”

“Good, neither do I.” She looped her finger through his belt loop and lead him up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to put out a light and fluffy chapter, I felt that Mary and David were long overdue for a date night. Plus, Emma got to spend some girly time with Lily!


	15. It’s A Wonderful Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a warning, this chapter will go from 0 to 60. Lots of fluff in the beginning, followed by uh, not so much fluff. I debated when I wanted to throw this in and decided it’d be best to do it now.

“David, turn,” Mary instructed.

“I am turning, it’s not going to fit,” David rebutted.

“Did you guys measure to make sure this was going to make it into our house?” Emma asked.

“No one asked you, little girl,” was all her father responded, causing her to roll her eyes.

 

They had gone out to pick a tree and it was a fairly easy process. David told the stories of how he used to have to chop his down by hand and Mary added that her parents always used a fake one, so the compromise was going to a lot where someone had already chopped down the trees, but they were live so the former farmer could still have that “fresh tree smell”. But now, David couldn’t get the darn thing through the door. Both Emma and Mary had offered to help, but of course he had to be chivalrous and refuse.

 

“Dad, you’re gonna break the house,” Emma said. She and Mary were standing inside, watching the show.

“No, I’m not.”

“Oh David, by the time we get this thing in, it’ll be New Year’s.” She grabbed the other end of the tree and pulled it through the door, helping him carry it inside and setting it up where it belonged. The man looked wounded.

“I had it under control.”

“Sure you did, darling.” She patted his cheek and turned to the boxes of ornaments. “Let’s get decorating!” She reached into one of them and pulled out a smaller one. “Here, we got these for you. Just the start of your collection.”

Emma opened the box and smiled. There was a swan, one that said “Daddy’s Girl, Mama’s World”, a sneaker (to represent track obviously), a princess and finally one that read “Baby’s First Christmas”, with the year. She giggled. “Seriously? Baby’s First Christmas?”

“Well you’re our baby and it’s your first Christmas with us!” Mary explained.

David chuckled. “Your mother picked that one out.”

“I’m guessing the princess one was yours?”

“Well, duh.” He kissed her cheek.

 

Mary put on some Christmas music and David made hot chocolate (with cinnamon of course) before they set out to decorate the tree. They had tons of ornaments to hang and the tree was definitely full before they were even through 75% of them.

 

“Oh David, wait, we have to put on one more.” Mary held up a small glass ornament that looked like the front part could open. The back said “Mary Margaret and David”.

“Of course, my love.” He took it from her and hung it on one of the few bare spots in the center.

“What is it?” Emma asked.

“This is how your father proposed to me.”

 

**Six Years Ago**

_“Here,” David said to Mary, handing over a box. “My mom always let me open one present on Christmas Eve, let’s keep up the tradition.”_

_Mary gave him a confused grin. The two were living in their first apartment together on campus. “What is it?”_

_“Open it and find out, dork.”_

_She giggled and took off the wrapping paper. Inside was a clear box with an ornament inside. “David, it’s beautiful.” She slowly removed it and then caught something shiny inside. She carefully opened the door and gasped. Inside was a diamond ring. The diamond was huge or anything, it was simple, with emeralds on either side. She slowly took it out and he took the ornament from her, hanging it on their tree, before taking the ring. “Is this…”_

_“Yes,” he replied, breathlessly. He got down on one knee and held it out. Tears sprang to the brunette’s eyes. “Mary Margaret Blanchard, will you marry me?”_

_“Yes! Of course I will!” The tears escaped down her cheeks and he slid the ring onto her finger, beaming. He stood up and she cupped his face, kissing him._

**Back In The Present**

Emma was smiling wide by the end of the story. Mary held out her finger to show her, her wedding band was in front of it, but it looked so beautiful under the twinkle of the Christmas lights.

 

“That is so romantic,” the teen told them.

“It was.” Mary leaned over and kissed David and Emma actually refrained from making a face. It was just too sweet to. “We got married not long after that.”

“So that’s why Christmas is such a big deal to you.”

“Yup. Plus, who doesn’t love Christmas?”

 

Emma’s smile faded a bit, but she tried to stay cheery. Christmases growing up were nonexistent. Her birth parents never decorated, never bought presents. The closest she got were specials on T.V. She would pretend she was in the episodes, from Full House to Family Matters, same with the movies. Her favorite was probably It’s A Wonderful Life.

 

“You never did anything in the system?” Mary asked. This was about the fifth time she would. She really had trouble accepting that in 8 years, no one had done anything for Emma.

“Not really. Some families didn’t celebrate, others only bought presents for their real kids.” She shrugged. “It’s no big deal, I got used to it.” And that was the truth. After a while she only saw Christmas for kids anyway. She now saw the look on Mary and David’s faces and sighed. “You asked.” She sat down on the couch. “Seriously, I really don’t want to stress on the past. I’m here now, that’s all that matters.”

 

Mary sighed, but knew her daughter was right. It was just hard for both of them to accept. Even David, who grew up poor and on a farm, had Christmases. The gifts were handmade most of the time, but there were still presents, a tree, etc. Even so, both also knew that constantly bringing up the past was just going to hurt her.

 

“So, do you have a favorite Christmas movie?” David asked, changing the topic.

“Um, probably It’s A Wonderful Life.”

“Let’s put the angel on top of the tree and then we can watch it.” He pulled out the box that contained it. “Would our angel like to do the honors?”

Emma blushed but nodded. David bent down and she climbed onto his shoulders. He slowly stood up, steadying himself. Mary handed her the angel and the tiny blonde reached up to place it on top.

“It’s perfect!” The brunette exclaimed with a big smile.

David sat down, pulling Emma off his shoulders and onto his lap. She grinned and laid her head on his shoulder. Mary pulled out her phone and took a picture, causing Emma to roll her eyes.

 

“Mama,” she whined.

“What? It’s super adorable. My baby and her daddy after putting up the Christmas tree!”

David handed Emma her hot chocolate. “She took ton of you decorating when you weren’t looking.”

“Of course she did.” She rolled her eyes. “If this teaching career ever stops working out, you could get a job taking embarrassing photos of other people’s kids.”

“Don’t give me another reason to follow you around school,” Mary said playfully as she looked through their movie collection to find her little girl’s favorite.

“Can’t wait for high school,” Emma retorted, with a joking smirk.

“Who knows, I could always get a job there.”

“I’m looking more and more the favorite parent, aren’t I?” David whispered loudly.

“Totally.”

“Hey!” Mary whipped around, a frown on her face. “You don’t have favorites.”

“I was just kidding Mama.”

The brunette rolled her eyes and tickled Emma’s sock clad feet, causing her to giggle. “I always knew if we had a daughter, she’d be a Daddy’s Girl.” She slid in the movie in and sat beside them. Emma put her feet on her mother’s lap and the family of three watched it together. By the end, the petite blonde was asleep in her father’s arms.

“I love when she does this,” David whispered, stroking her hair. “It just reminds me that I really am a daddy.”

“Of course you are. She adores you, so much David,” Mary whispered back.

“I’m pretty fond of her myself.” He laid a kiss to her forehead. “I know she should sleep in her own bed, but I don’t feel like getting up.”

She softly giggled. “Me either. Here,” she grabbed a quilt and pulled it over all of them. “We can rest here for a bit.”

Emma began to get restless in her sleep, she thrashed around in David’s arms, mumbling no, over and over again. David slowly began to rock her. “Shhh, Princess, it’s okay, Daddy’s here, Daddy’s got you.”

“Daddy,” she muttered and neither of her parents were sure if she was still dreaming or awake.

“That’s right, Daddy’s here.” He gave her a sad smile and kissed her head. “Daddy will protect you.” He ignored his wife taking a picture of the moment and stroked the little girl’s cheek. A thumb slowly entered Emma’s mouth and the scene about broke David’s heart.

“Wow, she must really be comfortable in your arms,” Mary said softly.

“I wonder how bad the nightmare was.”

“It seems to be over now,” he said, adjusting Emma so she’d be more comfortable. “I don’t think we should let her know she was doing this.”

“Of course not.” She gently pressed a kiss to Emma’s cheek. “Mama’s here too, baby.”

“Mama,” Emma mumbled from behind her thumb, causing the parents to grin.

“She may be thirteen, but she’s still our little girl,” Mary said.

 

Emma woke up the next morning, in her bed. She didn’t remember going up to bed and realized she must have fallen asleep in David’s arms…again. She also realized her thumb was inches away from her lips.

 

“Great,” she mumbled, wondering if they had seen her sucking her thumb. She had done it a lot as a child. She’d suck while she clung tightly to her baby blanket, trying to drown everything out from the world. It flared up every now and again when she got super stressed. She pushed back the blankets and got out of bed, taking a quick shower, changing into some warm clothes and heading downstairs. Her parents were in the kitchen, fixing breakfast. David looked up and smiled at her.

“Hey Princess,” he walked over and kissed her cheek. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I started to have a nightmare last night but then suddenly it stopped.” She shrugged and her parents smiled wider. “What?”

“You fell asleep in my arms and you started getting restless, so I rocked you and told you Daddy was here, so you calmed down.”

 

Come to think of it, she did remember David being in her dream. She couldn’t remember why though. Mary was there, too.

 

“You two looked awfully precious,” Mary added. “Of course not the nightmare, but you being comforted.”

“It stopped the nightmare, so I guess I can’t complain.” She kissed David’s cheek. “Did you guys see…”

“Yes.” Emma blushed. “But it’s fine, sweets. You were scared.”

“I don’t really do it anymore, I promise.”

“Even if you did, what does it matter? You only do it when you sleep, yes?” The blonde nodded and her mom took her hand. “Then it’s fine. If you’re really worried about it, bring it up with Archie at your appointment today. Speaking of which, David can you take her? I have conferences this afternoon.”

“I would but we’re really slammed at the station. Graham has the flu.”

“I can take myself,” Emma offered, pouring herself a glass of juice.

“You’ve never gone to Archie’s by yourself,” David rebutted.

“Yeah, but it’s not a big deal. I was going to ask to just see him without you. So what does it matter if I’m in the office alone?”

“What if you have a hard session?” Mary asked, her voice full of concern.

“Then I’ll go straight to the station. It’s not that far away. I can do this on my own, I’ll be fine.”

Mary sighed, but nodded. “You go straight there, regardless. Don’t pass go, don’t collect $200.”

Emma giggled. “Yes, Mama.” She pecked her cheek and grabbed her backpack. “Can we go now?”

“You need to eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Emma breakfast is the most important meal of the day…”

“Ugh, fine.” She reached over to grab a chocolate chip muffin, only to have her mom put an orange in her hands. “Seriously?”

“No chocolate for breakfast.”

“Then why did Daddy buy them?”

“Because your father thinks it’s funny to undermine me.”

“Oh live a little, Mary.” He replied with a smirk. Mary rolled her eyes and headed to grab their coats. Emma went to follow when David tapped her shoulder. She turned around and he handed her the muffin, now wrapped in foil. “A little homeroom treat.” He winked. “Don’t tell your mother.”

Emma grinned. “Thank you, Daddy!” She whispered, tucking it into her bag. She kissed his cheek and headed over to her other parent to get her coat.

* * *

Emma slung her backpack over her shoulder and began to head for the door. School had been the same as always, maybe even a little better with her dad’s sneaky snack. She was headed towards the exit so she could walk to her appointment when a familiar figure appeared in front of her.

 

“Hello Emma,” he said with a smirk.

 

It was Will. She hadn’t really seen him since he nearly assaulted her on the beach.  He had actually listened to David for once. He was still being a nuisance to society, but had left her alone.

 

“Go away,” she muttered.

“Oh come on, I’ve left you alone long enough don’t you think. Let’s stop fighting the inevitable.” He took her hand and started to pull her closer, but she pushed him away. “Don’t be a tease.”

“I…I’m not a tease!” She protested.

“I see the way you look at me.”

“I don’t look at you, at all.” She tried walking away but he grabbed her arm. Her breath hitched but before she could do anything, Lily appeared. She pushed Will away and put an arm around Emma.

“Get lost Will, before I call Sheriff Nolan!”

He rolled his eyes. “Sluts,” he muttered, before walking off.

 

Emma pulled away from Lily and ran out the door, but the brunette followed.

 

“Emma wait,” she grabbed her arm and the blonde looked at her with tears in her eyes.

“I…I have to go.”

“Please, we can talk about it. Will is a jerk.”

“It’s not just, Will. Really, I have to go.”

“Emma, you’re my best friend. Please just talk to me about it.”

The blonde drew a deep breath. “There’s a lot you and Ruby don’t know about me.”

“What is it?”

“I have to get to Dr. Hopper’s, I don’t have time.”

“Dr. Hopper? Why are you seeing him?”

Emma sighed. “I have PTSD.”

“I thought only vets got that.”

“So did I, but apparently being molested as a kid can bring it on, too.”

Lily bit her lip. “Oh, Emma.”

“If you don’t want to be my friend anymore…I get it.” Tears were in her eyes. Growing up, she didn’t really have friends. Ruby and Lily were her first ever best friends and she was scared to lose them.

“Why wouldn’t I want to be your friend? I just wish you had told me sooner!” Lily hugged her tight and Emma hugged her tighter. “You’re my best friend, Emma. You can tell me anything.”

“I know that now.  I’ve just never had a best friend before.”

“Well now you do.” She smiled. “I could go with you, if you want. To Dr. Hopper’s.”

“You’d want to come with me?”

“You look like you could use a friend.”

 

She held out her arm and Emma slid hers through it. The two of them walked to Archie’s, where they were met with a short wait.

 

“Are you sure you want to be here?” Emma asked her friend.

“If you want me to.”

 

She merely nodded. After Will, she really didn’t think she could face the session alone. Lily took her hand and gave her a smile.

 

The door to Archie’s office opened and he stepped out.

 

“Hello Emma, Lily, will you be joining us today?”

“I will.”

“She’s stepping in for my parents,” Emma explained, quietly. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course it is,” the red head said, guiding them in and they took their regular seats. “So, how was your day?”

“It was okay at first, but then I ran into Will on my way out. He kept calling me a tease.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he’s an asshole,” Lily said. “Sorry, I’ll be quiet now.”

“Lily’s right, as vulgar as she is.” She sighed. “He hasn’t harassed me in months. But every time I’m around him, I just don’t feel safe.”

“Have you reported him?”

“He never does anything he’s not supposed to, at least not since that day on the beach. I just…” She drew a deep breath. “I don’t like feeling out of control and I do whenever I’m around him.”

“Because of your birth father?”

“Yes, just knowing that there’s nothing I can do about the situation and it drives me insane.”

“He can’t hurt you, Emma, he may be out of jail, but with the protection order, there is control over that situation.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Out of jail? Ed I still in there.”

“No, he’s not. He was paroled a few weeks…” He trailed off, a realization hitting him. “Your mother never told you.”

“ _My mother_?”

“So, have you been journaling your nightmares lately…”

“Archie.” She sat up straight and looked him in the eye. “Did my mom tell you that Ed was paroled.”

“Emma…”

“You aren’t her therapist, it’s not confidential information. Did she tell you?”

Archie sighed. “Yes, she did. She told me that she was going to tell you.”

“She didn’t.”

 

Emma bit down on her lip. If Mary knew, then it meant that David knew as well. They hadn’t told her. They…they had lied.

 

The blonde rose to her feet, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

 

“I have to go.”

“Emma, we still have some time, let’s talk about this.”

“I really don’t want to. I’m sorry Archie, this isn’t your fault.” She didn’t feel mad or sad, she was just hollow. Carefully she walked out of the office and out onto Main Street, Lily following close behind.

“Emma…”

“They lied to me,” she whispered. “They didn’t tell me.”

“Well that’s not really a lie…”

“Come on Lil,” she shot her a pain stricken look. “It’s worse. They could’ve told me, they should have! They promised me they wouldn’t hurt me, well this…this hurts!”

Lily put an arm around her friends for the millionth time that day. “I know…well I don’t understand completely, but I can help.”

“How?”

“Well if they want to lie and sneak around your back, you should do the same.”

“I’m lost.”

“You’re supposed to go to the sheriff station after your appointment right? Let’s not.”

Emma bit her lip. Her parents would be worried, possibly pissed. But at the same time, she didn’t care. Maybe they should hurt just as much as she did. She had trusted them, trusted that they wouldn’t keep things from her and they had broken that.

 

“Let’s do it.”

* * *

David walked through the door of his house, his mind racing. Emma had never showed up to the station and she wasn’t answering her phone. He was praying that she had just gone back to the house. But when he spotted his own wife pacing, he knew that wasn’t the case.

 

“She never showed up to the station,” he explained, walking over.

“She’s not here either. God, why would she do this? I thought she was doing better at listening to us!”

 

At that moment, her cell phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket and saw it was Archie.

 

“Archie! Maybe she stayed late with him.” She answered it, feeling breathless suddenly. “Archie, is Emma with you?”

“No. And I’m sorry it took me so long to call, I just wanted to see if Emma would go home. But I contacted the station and they said that she never showed.”

“What happened during the appointment?”

“I apologize Mary Margaret, I assumed she knew.”

“Assumed she knew…” Mary trailed off but then she knew what he was talking about. “Her birth father.” The last words came out in a whisper. David looked up, panic in his eyes.

“It came out, we were discussing something else and she left my office, early. She didn’t seem upset or mad, just hollow.”

Mary nodded to herself. “Okay, okay.”

“She brought Lily to her appointment, maybe check her house.”

“I will, thank you Archie.”

“Again Mary Margaret, I apologize.”

“It’s not your fault, Arch. It’s ours.” She hung up the phone, running a hand through her hair. “She knows, David.”

“Knows about…”

“Ed being out of prison. And that we knew. She left Archie’s early with Lily.”

“Oh my God.” David ran a hand over his face.

“You were right, David. We should’ve told her the truth.”

“Now is not a time for “I told you so’s”, we need to find our baby!”

 

At that moment, the door opened. They ran to the entry way, where Emma stood, taking off her jacket.

  
“Emma, I was worried sick,” David went to hug her, but she pulled away. She just stared at the two of them, her eyes full of hurt and sadness. “Princess…”

“Don’t,” she whispered, harshly. “Don’t call me that.”

“We were just trying to protect you,” he said, soothingly.

“Protect me? How was that protecting me?!? What if he showed up out of nowhere and I had no idea!”

“Sweets, he can’t show up, he’s not allowed to leave the state and there’s a no contact order in place until you’re eighteen, you’re safe here,” Mary explained, trying to grab her hand, but Emma backed away.

“I didn’t know that today when I found out! I’ve been freaking out for the past couple hours!”

“If you had just came home, we could’ve talked about it,” the brunette replied.

“Well forgive me if I don’t feel like I can talk to you two! You lied to me!”

“We didn’t lie…” Mary replied, biting her lip, knowing her daughter was right.

“You omitted the truth! How would you two feel if you found out that I had some big secret that could impact your lives?!?” Emma shouted.

“Please, Princess…” David started.

“I trusted you,” Emma’s voice cracked and tears fell down her face. Mary tried to hug her, only to once again be pushed away. The parents were feeling their hearts breaking. They so badly wanted to hold her and comfort her through this. “That wasn’t easy for me.”

“We know,” her mother whispered. “I am so sorry, when we didn’t tell you. We really thought it was what’s best.”

The blonde shook her head, wiping the tears away from her eyes. “I…I thought you two could be different! That you wouldn’t hurt me!”

“We didn’t mean to,” Mary said, tears clouding her eyes.

“But you did,” Emma tipped her head to the ceiling. “I…I can’t….I can’t be around you two right now.”

“You’re not leaving the house again.”

“I know. I’m going to my room. But remember when I broke your trust by going to the party? Well you two have done that now and I don’t think you’ll get it back.”

“Emma, please,” Mary’s voice was breaking. “You’re our baby, we’re your parents.”

“Well maybe you shouldn’t be!”

 

She didn’t mean it, of course she didn’t mean it. She just wanted to hurt them, just as bad as they had hurt her. She stormed up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She flopped down on her bed, clinging tightly to her blanket. Tears rolled down her cheeks, pain filling her.

 

Downstairs, Mary had tears pouring down her face as well.  David wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head.

 

“She didn’t mean it, baby,” he whispered into her ear.

“What if she did?”

“She was just upset, she’ll forgive us.” He wished he could believe the words he was saying.

“She might not.”

“We’ll just have to earn her trust back.”

“How?”

“I don’t know; we’ll figure it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it! Emma knows the truth and she’s upset and saying things she doesn’t mean, once again. How will David and Mary fix this?


	16. Give Her Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you may have been able to tell from previous chapters, I do try to include parts of OUAT in here, despite the magic. So some dialogue in this chapter, I borrowed from 4x18.

Mary did her best to compose herself and then started on dinner. She decided to make Emma’s favorite: grilled cheese and onion rings. She even allowed David to make hot chocolate to go with it, even though she’d typically have her daughter drink milk or water. Once it was all done, they headed up to her room and knocked on the door.

 

“Emma?” Mary asked. There was no response, so they walked in. Emma was curled up on her bed, hugging her baby blanket and staring at the wall. She looked up and saw them, rolling her eyes.

“I want a lock for my door,” she mumbled.

“We don’t lock people out in this house,” David told her, gently, sitting next to her on the bed. Once again, the blonde rolled her eyes.

“I made your favorite,” Mary said, trying to keep her voice soothing and happy. “Grilled cheese and onion rings, plus Daddy made you hot chocolate.”

“Are you trying to bribe me into forgiving you?”

“I just thought it’d be nice.” She set the plate and mug down on the nightstand. Emma didn’t even bother to touch it. “You have to eat, sweets.”

“Can both of you just leave me alone?”

“No. Emma, I know you’re mad at us, but can we at least tell you our side? You owe us that much.”

Emma scoffed. “Whatever, give your excuses.”

“It’s not an excuse…” David tried to say, but trailed off when he saw his daughter’s face.

 

 

Mary drew a deep breath. “Your father got the call a few weeks ago from Helen, your social worker. He came home and told me and Emma, you have to know he wanted to tell you. I was the one who didn’t.”

“Mary…” David bit his lip, he knew what she was doing but he didn’t like it. If Emma was going to be mad, it should be at both of them.

“No, David, it’s the truth. Anyway, I said we should talk to Archie about it, so I did.”

“And what did he say?” Emma asked, quietly.

“He told me to tell you and I was going to but that was the day you really opened up,” Mary felt the tears come to her eyes once again. “I just thought about how hurt you had been by him and how you were healing, I thought that telling you would just be adding salt to the wound. I really, really thought I was doing the right thing. Your father was still hesitant about it…”

“But in the end I agreed,” David cut his wife off, taking her hand. “Because I thought she was right.”

“We made a mistake, we’re not perfect and we want to try to make this up to you,” Mary continued, squeezing David’s hand for comfort. “You have every right to be hurt, but we did this when your best interest at heart. That is the truth.”

Emma sat up. “No, what’s true is that no matter why you did what you did, you still did it and you’ve been lying to me about it! You’ve been lying to me about everything!”

“That’s not true,” David protested. “It was one incident.”

“Don’t downplay it!”

“We’re trying to change, Emma, to be the parents that you deserve…” Mary tried to tell her.

“You lied to me! You kept something from me, a secret that could’ve potentially hurt me! If I didn’t find out, he could’ve showed up and I wouldn’t have been prepared and it would’ve been worse!” The blonde’s eyes felt hot with tears, but she wasn’t going to let them fall, not again.

“You’re right,” David replied. “What we did was wrong, but we didn’t completely know what we were doing. We really were just trying to keep you safe. This is so new for us, we…we thought it was best. We’re human.”

“Well right now, I don’t care,” Emma replied, bitterly. “I can’t trust you two right now and I don’t really want to be around you.”

 

Mary and David bit down on their lips, slowly nodding.

 

“Did you…did you mean what you said about us not being your parents?” Mary asked, quietly.

“Just leave,” Emma told her.

“Emma.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation, but you need to leave me alone, seriously.”

“Princess, please…” David whispered.

“I’m still here, right? Now get out.”

 

Mary sighed, but nodded, going to kiss her head, only to have Emma pull away. David tried as well, with similar results.

  
“We love you Emma,” was the last thing Mary whispered before she left the room with her husband.

 

The blonde looked over at the plate on the nightstand and plucked off an onion ring. She wanted to believe what they were saying. More than anything she wanted to hug them tight and never let go. But deep down inside, she was still angry. She didn’t understand how this was the angriest she had ever been. It wasn’t the first time she had been hurt, yet it hurt worse than any other betrayal she had faced.

 

“I love you too,” she muttered, once she was sure they were far away from the door. “I don’t know why, though.”

David woke up the next morning to find the spot beside him empty. He got out of bed and headed into the hall. Outside Emma’s door, he saw Mary. She was sitting there with her eyes shut, clearly asleep. He walked over and knelt in front of her, slowly shaking her awake.

 

“Mary?”

“Mmm…David,” she yawned.

“What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Mary admitted. “I just kept worrying about her. I checked in on her and she was fast asleep, but I still couldn’t leave her alone, so I just slept here.”

“Oh baby.” He rubbed his hands over her cheeks.

“You were right,” she whispered. “We should’ve just told her. She hates us now.”

“She doesn’t hate us.”

“Well she’s mad at us and I hate that, I hate having my baby mad at me.”

“She’s a teenager, she was bound to get mad at us sometime.”

“Yeah but it’s supposed to be because we ground her for breaking curfew, something that we can justify.” She played with the buttons on her night shirt. “I can’t justify this.”

David sighed and rested his forehead against hers. “You look exhausted. It’s Saturday, why don’t you go lay down?”

“But you have work and Emma…”

“Everything will be fine, go get some rest.” He pressed his lips against hers and she nodded. He helped her up and lead her into the room, having her lay down. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

 

He headed back out of his room and found Emma walking out, her hair still wet from the shower.

 

“Morning Princess,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

“But you are my princess.”

“Yeah well you’re no prince charming.” And with that, she went downstairs.

 

He let out a deep breath, counted back from ten and followed her.

 

“I have to go to work, your mom is really tired so she’ll still be resting. I could make you breakfast if you want,” he offered.

“I’m good.”

“Are you going out today?” She shrugged. “If you do, leave a note for Mama.”

“Whatever.”

He sighed and went to kiss her head, only to have her pull away again. “I love you.”

“Uh huh.”

 

He tried to keep in mind that she was probably just trying to hurt him because she was hurt. He made himself some coffee, poured it into a travel mug and left. Emma made herself some breakfast, just some toast and fruit and settled on the couch, watching T.V. She was caught up in the middle of a Friday The 13th marathon when Mary came downstairs. She had showered and dressed, looking better than she had earlier. She walked into the living room and saw what was on the T.V.

 

“Emma.” Her daughter didn’t look up. “Emma, this is too scary for you.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “Leave me alone.”

“I know you’re still mad, but you’re not watching this.” She grabbed the remote and shut the T.V off.

Emma jumped off the couch and headed for the door grabbing her jacket and purse.

“Where are you going?”

“Out.” She walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

 

Mary ran a hand through her hair and grabbed her own jacket and purse. She waited for Emma to be gone around the block before she left. She drove to Granny’s and slid into her typical booth. A waitress came by to take her order and she asked for some tea and eggs. As she stared out into space, she heard a voice.

 

“Mary?” She looked up and saw Mal Page standing there. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Mal,” she replied, faking a smile.

“I know you’re lying.” She slid into the seat across from her. “Lily told me about what happened.”

“Emma is so mad at me,” she whispered. “She’s never been upset with me.”

“Welcome to the life of raising a teenager.”

“But it wasn’t supposed to go like this. She should be mad at me for not letting her date a boy with a motorcycle or for grounding her for skipping class. It should be stuff that I could know that I was right in. I wasn’t right here.”

“Maybe not,” Mal reached over and squeezed her hand. “But we all make mistakes. No parent is perfect. I’ve let Lily down before, unintentionally. I do my best not to, but it happens. Sometimes we want to protect our babies so badly, we do things we shouldn’t.”

“What if she never forgives me?”

“She will. You just have to give her some time. Emma loves you.”

“Last night she said maybe we shouldn’t be your parents.”

Mal gave her a sad smile. “Seems like she was just trying to hurt you. I doubt she meant it. Lily has told me she wishes I wasn’t her mom a few times.”

Mary’s eyes widened. “That’s mean.”

“Well, when someone hurts, they want to hurt the other person in the same way. Seriously, you have to try to not let it go to your head.”

“I wish I could. I just waited so long to become a mother, I don’t want to lose her over something like this.”

“You won’t lose her. She’ll forgive you and life will go on and you’ll learn from this.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever want to stop trying to protect her.”

The blonde smiled. “Of course you won’t, again, that’s what makes you a mother. You just learn other ways to protect them.

Mary nodded. “Thanks, Mal.”

“Anytime. I’m sadly an expert at this sort of thing. To Lily, I’m the most embarrassing, meanest mom alive.” She stood up, adjusting her bag over her shoulder. “And then other days, I’m the best. It goes in circles, you just have to get used to it.”

* * *

 

David was trying to pay attention to the reports in front of him, but he just couldn’t. He didn’t blame Mary for what was going on, he had agreed despite not wanting to. Still, he had a mind of his own. He could’ve just told Emma and dealt with the wrath of Mary later. But he hadn’t, because he wanted to protect his daughter.

 

He got up from his seat and headed outside, pulling his jacket on. It wasn’t one he normally wore, that was at the cleaner’s. He reached into his pockets and felt a familiar box. He pulled it out and sighed. His cigarettes. Now he remembered why he stopped wearing this one.

 

David had started smoking as a teenager, it was the old cliché everyone else was doing it, so he would too. When he met Mary, it was a huge turnoff so he managed to quit for her sake. He was fine with things until they started struggling with having a child. He began doing it at secret, just on his breaks at work or whenever he could be alone. But Mary had caught him and he quit, again.

 

He was tempted again; it would take his mind off things. The pack was still wrapped in plastic, he had bought it on his way home the day he quit, just in case he ever had a craving. This pack was most likely stale and would taste disgusting, but the pharmacy was just a few feet away. He could duck in and grab a pack, no problem. He felt around deeper in the pocket and recovered a lighter.

 

That’s when Archie Hopper came walking up. He gave David a small smile. “Hello, David.”

“Archie, hi.” He fumbled with the pack in his hand and threw it in the trash.

“I thought you quit.”

“I did, I did. I just haven’t worn this jacket in a while, it was an old pack…”

“I saw you eyeing the drug store.”

The blonde sighed. “Just stressed, I suppose.”

“Emma?”

“Yes. She is so incredibly mad at us and it’s driving me nuts. I know I deserve it, I just wish I could do something to make it go away.”

“You know, I think it’s good that she’s mad at you.”

David rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks.”

Archie chuckled. “Not that I’m happy she’s upset, I just mean that it shows how much she loves you.”

“I don’t follow.”

“I’ve spoken to Emma a lot. People have let her down in the past…”

“Don’t remind me of that, please.”

“But she says that she’s not mad at them, because they didn’t matter to her. All those foster homes, she can’t be upset with the foster parents because she didn’t love them. She’s hurt by what her birth father did, but other than that, until now, I haven’t seen her get this upset at being betrayed. It’s because deep down, she really does love you and Mary, with all her heart.”

David bit his lip. “That just makes this worse.”

“I don’t mean to make you feel any worse than you already do, I’m saying it’s a good thing. She cares enough about you to get mad, which means she’ll forgive you.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Look at it this way,” Archie pushed his glasses up on his nose. “You’ve been upset with her before, yes? She told me about the time she cursed you out and when she lied to you about the party.” David nodded, wincing a bit at the memory. “But, you were only upset because you cared about her. You were able to forgive her, with time.”

He let out a long sigh, knowing the therapist was right. “Thanks, Archie. You should bill me for this session,” he joked with a slight smirk.

“On the house. And about those cigarettes, not worth it. Trust me.” And with that, he was gone.

 

David looked down at the lighter in his palm, running his fingers over the smooth silver design. He sighed and tossed it in a nearby ashtray before walking back into the station. Instead, he poured himself a rather large cup of coffee and sipped it.

Emma walked along the beach. It was freezing cold, but she didn’t care, she just had to be alone. Lily and Ruby were texting her, offering to do stuff and she just didn’t feel up to it. She was starting to feel miserable already from ignoring her parents. She hated pushing them away, but felt it was necessary. She was still upset with them and didn’t understand how they could do something like this. She let out a deep breath and watched it form a small cloud in front of her. Her shoes made crunch sounds against the snow covered sand.

 

“Looks like you’re determined to get hypothermia,” Baelfire commented. She hadn’t even noticed he was there. Her already pink cheeks flushed.

“Just trying to clear my head. Why are you here?”

“Looking for you. Lily told me you were upset and not talking to anyone, she thought I should give it a try.”

“I really don’t want to talk.”

“Can you at least tell me what’s wrong?”

Emma bit her lip, kicking some snow up. She looked Baelfire up and down. He was bundled up, in a puffy black jacket, a scarf and knit cap. He was carrying his normal messenger bag and pulled out a thermos and two cups, pouring out some cocoa. She smiled, remembering something. “You always seem to bring me drinks here.”

“Huh?”

“When you saved me from Will, you had water, now you have cocoa,” she said as she accepted a cup from him. “It’s like you’re always prepared.”

“Having a paranoid overprotective father will do that to you,” he replied with a laugh, sipping his own. The two sat down on the same bench they had the first time they met. “So, what’s got you so upset?”

“I figured Lily would tell you,” she replied, cupping her mitten clad hands around the cup, feeling extra warmth.

“Nope,” he replied, popping the p as he did.

She sighed. “My birth father is out of prison.”

“Oh, what was he in jail for?”

Emma stared down into the brown cocoa. “He um…molested me. He and his friends.”

Baelfire tensed up. “I am so, so sorry Emma. That is terrible.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered.

“No, it’s not.” He put a hand on her back. “No one deserves that.”

“I know.” Her tears felt hot against her cold cheeks. “Anyway, um, my parents knew and didn’t tell me. I just can’t believe they would hide it from me, I had a right to know.”

Baelfire nodded. “It hurts, because you trusted them.”

“Exactly.”

“I get it.”

“No offense, Bae, but there’s no way you’d ever understand.”

“Wanna bet?” He sighed. “I’m not saying this to top your story or anything, because yours is worse, way worse. You know how I told you my mom left?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I was five, so pretty young. My dad didn’t tell me that she left, instead he lied and said she was dead.”

Emma’s head snapped up and her eyes widened. “What?”

“He said that she was dead. I was young so I didn’t really put two and two together about how there was no funeral or anything. It was sad, but again, I was little. I didn’t really remember her.”

“So how’d you find out the truth?”

“A few years ago, I was looking in the attic for a class project,” he laughed in spite of himself. “It was actually for your mom’s class, we had to do a family tree. I knew my dad’s side, but he never really spoke of my mother so I had to do my own research. I found a bunch of legal documents, including divorce papers and ones stating that he had sole physical custody of me.”

Emma’s mitten clad hand slid into his glove covered one and she squeezed it. “That’s terrible, I’m sorry.”

“I was pissed, really pissed. I confronted him and he said he had done it because he figured it’d be easier for me to handle a dead mom than a dead beat. I didn’t think it made it right, I wouldn’t talk to him for days.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“But eventually…” Baelfire smiled. “I saw his side.”

“How?”

He shrugged. “He was trying to protect me. It hurt a lot more to know that she chose to left me than it did to think that she was dead. If she had died, she didn’t choose that, it just happened. But she chose to leave and that’s still something I struggle with.”

“He still should’ve told you the truth, so you could process it.”

“You’re right and he even admits that now. He made a mistake, one mistake out of his years of otherwise being the best, albeit protective, father. I forgave him, because I love him and I know he just wanted to protect me, to keep me from feeling anymore pain than necessary.”

 

Emma just nodded, processing the information.

 

“I’m not telling you what to do and I get why you’re mad at your parents, you should be for as long as you want, just keep in mind that they didn’t set out to hurt you.”

“I know that,” she whispered. “It just still hurts all the same.”

“I know, which is why it’s okay to be angry, sad, hurt, whatever emotions you wish to feel.”

“I wish they could see that. They think giving me my favorite foods or calling me by my nicknames will make it okay again.”

“They’re just trying. My dad did the same thing. I can’t count the number of times he reminded me that I was his _Sweet Bae_.” He chuckled, causing Emma to giggle.

“Yeah well I told David this morning that I wasn’t his princess.”

“Ouch,” Bae smirked.

“I just want to hurt them like they hurt me.”

“Is it working?”

She shook her head, frowning. “Not really, it’s just making me feel even more miserable.”

“Exactly. Again, you don’t have to forgive them yet, but don’t torture them. They are human, we all make mistakes.”

 

She nodded.

 

“Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure. How about the fact that I can’t feel my butt anymore from sitting on this ice cold bench?”

Emma giggled again. “I know Lily wanted us to go see a movie, maybe we should take her up on that.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He stood up and held out his arm. She rose and linked hers through it, walking off with him.

 

Meanwhile, Mary was walking out of Ashley’s shop. She was trying to distract herself from all that was going on and Christmas shopping was just barely doing the trick. As she was heading to her car, she spotted a familiar blonde across the street. It was Emma, she was walking with Lily, Ruby and Baelfire. She had an actual smile on her face. Lily said something and even from far away, Mary could hear her little girl’s laugh. Emma must have felt someone watching her, because she turned and saw her, her smile slowly fading. Mary tried to give her a smile, to get it back on her face, but it was no use. Ruby saw the scene and put her arm around Emma, whispering something in her ear. It caused the blonde to laugh again and they headed into the movie theater.

 

Mary drew a deep breath and blinked the tears from her eyes.

 

“Give her time, Mary,” she whispered to herself. “Give her time.”

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the family had very important talks, will they make up soon? And we learn more about Baelfire’s past here!


	17. Nightmare vs. Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, borrowing a little dialogue from OUAT for this one. I don’t own those lines or any of the characters, actually. I just like to write with them.

Mary walked down the stairs of her home, though something about it felt off. She looked around and realized the pictures they had taken of Emma over the past few months were gone. Her homework and quizzes were no longer on the fridge nor was the artwork Mary had discovered in her file. The brunette quickly ran back up the stairs and threw open her daughter’s door, only to find the room back to the way it was before Emma moved in. The closets were empty, the baby blanket nowhere in sight. She raced back downstairs, freaking out.

 

“Emma?” She yelled out. “Emma, this isn’t funny! Where are you?”

“Chill Mary.” The woman whipped around to find Emma standing there. She was wearing the same outfit she had been the day they met.

“Emma, thank God!” She threw her arms around her. “I thought you were gone forever.”

“I am.” The blonde pushed her off and snickered when Mary’s face fell. “I’m not your daughter.”

“Yes, you are.” Mary tried to smile, hoping it would rub off on Emma. “You call me Mama, you…you said you wanted to be my daughter.”

“Why would I want to be anything to you? You lied to me.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Sorry doesn’t hack it.” 

 

There was a knock at the door.

 

“That’d be for me,” Emma said, walking to it and answering. There stood a tall woman with red curls and piercing green eyes. Suddenly a smile went across Emma’s face. “Mom!”

“Hello darling,” the woman crooned, wrapping her arms around her. “All set to go.”

“Yup.”

Mary felt her heart fall heavy in her chest as tears came to her eyes. “Emma wait!” She grabbed her arm. “Who is this?”

“Why this is my mom, of course,” she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“No, I’m your mother! Don’t do this, please.” Tears fell down her cheeks. “You’re my little girl.”

“No I’m not, I never was.” She pulled away from Mary, grabbing the suitcase that had suddenly appeared near her. “Bye.” And with that, she was gone.

 

Mary threw open the door, but no one was there. The tears continued to fall as a sob escaped her lips.

 

“Emma!”

Mary shot up in bed, panting. She looked around the room in shock. David was beside her, snoring lightly. She threw back the covers and ran down the stairs, everything was the same as it was before she fell asleep. The pictures, the homework, artwork, all there. She sped back up to Emma’s room and jolted the door open, not even thinking to be quiet. There in the bed was her little girl, fast asleep. A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

 

“It was just a bad dream,” she whispered to herself, walking over and stroking the blonde’s hair. “She’s here, it was just a dream.” Her heart was still pounding in her chest.

 

Days had passed and little changed. Emma wasn’t going out of the way to torture her parents, but she still wouldn’t talk to them unless it was urgently necessary. They were trying to be patient, but it was killing them. David and Mary simply didn’t feel like a whole family with her being this upset. But they also knew there wasn’t much that they could do about it. Even if they could make her forgive her, they wouldn’t want it that way.

 

Given that, her dream made sense, but she still hated it. She hated the thought that her daughter could leave her. The adoption wasn’t final, if she was really that upset, that nightmare could become a scary reality.

 

“Mary?” A harsh whisper came from the door and she turned around, finding her husband there. “What are you doing? It’s three in the morning.”

Mary looked back down at Emma and pressed a kiss to her forehead. The teen stirred but didn’t wake. Slowly, but with her eyes still on her daughter, the brunette inched out of the room, shutting the door behind her. “I had this awful dream…Emma left and it was like she never existed.”

“Oh, love.” David pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back soothingly. “She’s here, she’s not going anywhere.”

“But she could,” Mary protested, her voice muffled into his shirt as the tears came again. “We haven’t adopted her yet; she could choose to leave.”

“She’s not going to do that; she knows this is her home.”

 

The woman merely nodded and he wiped the rest of her tears away. Before either could speak again, there was a scream from Emma’s room. Mary threw the door back open and ran in, David right behind her. Emma was sitting up in her bed, screaming and breathing heavily.

 

“David, go get her pills, in case the inhaler doesn’t work!” Without waiting for him to do so, Mary sat on the bed, holding her daughter close. “Shhh, sweets, it’s okay. It was just a nightmare, just a nightmare.”

 

The screaming stopped, but the hypervenelating continued.

 

“Can you breathe for me, sweets?” More hypervenelating. “Alright, baby. Don’t worry.” She reached over and grabbed the inhaler they kept on her nightstand and held it up to her mouth. “Take some puffs, Em.” The blonde shook her head. “Please, baby, please. You need to.”

“I…I…can’t…” Emma replied shakily.

Mary rubbed her back. “Shhh, it’s okay. Daddy’s going to get your pills.” She set the inhaler down. “Try to think of good things, okay?” Mary found her daughter’s baby blanket on the floor and handed it to her. The girl clung to it like her life depended on it. A moment later, David came back in with water and two pills. “Alright, this is very important, you need to take these very carefully, I don’t want you choking. Do you understand?”

Emma nodded and unsteadily grabbed what her father was holding. Slowly she put the pills in her mouth and took a sip of the water.

David half-smiled and rubbed her back. “That’s my good girl.” He continued doing that until her breathing slowly returned to normal. As her fear lowered, so did her parents’, who seemed to breathe simultaneous sighs of relief.

The blonde leaned against the pillows, her eyes closing again. By now, she had had to take the pills a few times and so the effects were pretty immediate. Mary leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Sleep, baby.” Soon, they could hear her light breathing, indicating that she was no longer awake.

“Well that was scary,” David whispered. “You both had nightmares.”

“I may not share her DNA, but maybe I could sense something was off, I don’t know.” Mary continued stroking her hair.

David lightly smiled. “You’re staying in here, aren’t you?”

“I don’t care if she’s mad at me, I’m not going to leave her after we had to give her medicine.”

“I’m not either.”

 

The couple made themselves comfortable and soon both had fallen back asleep.

Emma awoke the next morning, instantly seeing her blanket clutched in her hands. Suddenly, the previous night’s events came flooding back. She didn’t remember the nightmare, just that it was bad and scary enough to cause such a panic attack. She sat up, looking around and realized her parents were asleep on either side of her. Mary had her hand on top of her own, not even waking from the movement.

 

“They stayed with me,” Emma muttered to herself. She didn’t get it, lately she had been pushing them away. They knew she was mad. And yet, they risked an outburst, just to make sure she was okay. She leaned against the headboard and just stayed like that, until her parents seemed to wake up at the same time.

“Mmm…Emma?” Mary said with a slight yawn, sitting up. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, those pills seemed to work.”

“That’s great,” David said, sitting up as well.

Mary sighed, looking at her daughter. “Emma…can we talk?”

“We are right now,” the blonde replied with a shrug.

“You know what I mean. I’m sorry I let you down.”

“You didn’t.”

“I was selfish.”

Emma sighed. “You were, but at some point this has to stop.”

“I’m not ever going to stop trying to protect you, I don’t care what you do or say,” Mary corrected, a little sternly.

“I know. I need to stop punishing you,” the blonde teen admitted, she looked over at her father. “Both of you.”

“Really?” David asked.

“You two lied to me and it hurt, but that doesn’t change who you are.”

“And what’s that?” Mary questioned, feeling uneasy.

“My mom,” Emma gave her a small smile, before glancing over at David. “And my dad. You wanted to protect me, so you didn’t tell me the truth which wasn’t okay but…human. Cutting you out and trying to hurt you has just made me hurt myself.”

Both parents had tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

“I miss you,” Emma admitted breathlessly. “And I…I forgive you.”

 

Mary pulled her daughter into her arms, hugging her tight. Emma returned the hug, burying her head into her mom’s shoulder. David joined in on the hug, cupping the back of his daughter’s head as he did. Both felt the ultimate relief holding their baby in their arms again. All of the fear they had, was gone.

 

“I love you both,” the blonde girl whispered.

“I love you too,” Mary and David whispered back, almost in perfect unison. Then they each kissed one of her cheeks, causing her to smile. The three of them stayed like that for a very long time, none wanting to be the first to let go. Finally, David did, but Mary stayed clinging on.

“What brought this on?” David asked, wiping the tears that had fallen from his baby blues. “Not that I don’t love it.”

“I woke up this morning and I expected that you two would’ve just let me alone, that you would’ve thought it’s what I wanted. A few days ago, it may have been but…I was relieved to see you two here. And the fact that you know me well enough to know that’s what I would want, meant something.”

Mary kissed her daughter’s cheek again and stroked her hair. “We promise we’ll work on trying to protect you while also being honest.”

“It’s a start, and I appreciate that.”

David took her hand and squeezed it. “I’ll go make us some coffee.”

“Really?” Emma replied with a smile.

“For me and your mother, you get juice.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “You suck.”

“Now, now, you just got done saying how much you love me,” he replied cheekily, tweaking her nose and walking out of the room.

 

Mary still kept a grip around her daughter, holding her as if she’d disappear if she let go.

 

“Mama?” Emma asked.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine, things are better now.”

“Well you’re practically squeezing me.”

Mary sighed, loosening her grip a bit. “I’m sorry, I just…” She stopped herself.

“You just what?”

“Nothing, forget about it.”

“No, Mom.” Emma looked her in the eyes. “You just promised to be honest.”

Mary smiled sadly and stroked her cheek. “Last night, before you woke up from your nightmare, I had one of my own.”

“What happened in it?”

“I woke up and went downstairs and every trace of you was gone, same as in your room. I was freaking out, looking around for you. Suddenly you appeared and you were very cold, you…you kept saying that you weren’t my daughter and that I…I wasn’t…” The brunette bit her lip, wincing at the memory of the dream. “You said I wasn’t your mother.”

“Oh Mom,” Emma took her hand. “I wouldn’t ever do that.”

“I know, but it seemed so real,” Mary replied, wiping a tear that strayed. Then this woman showed up, I don’t even know who she was. But you started calling _her_ mom and left with her, saying you weren’t my little girl, that you never were.”

“Well then you have to know that it was just a stupid dream,” Emma gave her a reassuring smile and wrapped her arms around her mother’s torso, laying her head against her chest. “I am your little girl.”

“Promise?”

“Yes. From the minute you met me, you did all you could to make me feel like this was home. I didn’t understand how back then. You just met me and you acted like I was your kid. You treated me like no one ever had.”

Mary smiled in spite of her tears. “Because the minute your father showed me your picture, I knew you were mine.”

Emma’s fingers intertwined with her mother’s. “I think a part of me knew you were meant to be my mom…I didn’t want to admit it then; I was scared you’d send me away.”

“You know now there’s nothing you could do to make that happen, right?”

“I’m working on it. I mean, I know it most of the time. Others…I get scared.”

Mary looked down into the girl’s green eyes. “Well don’t, this is your home. No matter what.”

“Home,” Emma whispered to herself. “I’m home.”

“Yes you are, my sweet girl.”

 

They stayed like that for a few minutes until David returned with their beverages. He handed Mary Margaret a mug full with coffee and Emma one with hot chocolate.

 

“David,” Mary lectured. “It is early in the morning; she does not need hot cocoa.”

“Oh lighten up, Mary,” David replied with a laugh. “It’s the day before Christmas Eve. She can have a little treat.”

“Is Christmas really just two days away?” Emma asked, pulling away from her mom and sipping her drink. The day before had been the last day before winter vacation at school.

“Yup, it’ll be so much fun, our first Christmas as a family!” Mary grinned. “I’m just glad we all made up in time for it.”

“I am too.”

David smiled at her and then looked over at his wife, who could practically read his mind, so she nodded. “Princess, can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure,” Emma replied, setting her mug down on the nightstand.

“Well, you know when we adopt you, your last name will change, if you want it to, of course.”

“Why wouldn’t I want it to? You guys are my parents.”

David’s smile widened. “Alright, good. I’m sure you also know your biological parents never gave you a middle name.”

“Uh huh.”

“You see, a year ago, Mary and I were talking baby names and we always said if we had a daughter, in some way we would name her after my mother…”

“Ruth,” Mary added, quickly.

“Yes, Ruth. So we were wondering…I was wondering…if you would mind when we went to change your name on your birth certificate to Emma Nolan, if we made it Emma Ruth Nolan.”

Emma smiled. “Really? But that’s the name you wanted if you had a baby.”

“We did have a baby,” David pushed a lock of hair out of her face. “You.”

A tear prickled Emma’s eye. “Well I would be honored to share a name with your mother.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

David pulled her close, kissing her head. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

The Nolans spent the rest of the morning with each other. David had the day off and though he had to work the morning of Christmas Eve, he made sure he’d be there for the actual day. He wasn’t about to miss his little girl’s first Christmas with them. It would be more like her first one ever. He had been really nervous they wouldn’t have made up by then, but luckily fate had prevailed.

 

That afternoon, Mary had to do some last minute shopping and David tagged along, while Emma went to do some of her own. She had bought most of her parents’ presents already, but just wanted to get one last thing. As she was heading out of the shop, she heard something. She stopped in her tracks and listened again, it sounded like some sort of animal. Slowly, the girl made her way over and in the snow, she saw a bunch of orange fur. She knelt to the ground and carefully touched it, unsure what it was. Suddenly, a little face poked out. It was a kitten.

 

Emma reached into the snow and carefully pulled it out. It was very tiny, probably only a few weeks old. It was also soaking wet and mewing over and over again.

 

“Hey little one,” she whispered. She took her scarf from around her neck and wrapped it around him. “Where did you come from?” The blonde looked around and realized they were near the animal hospital. She remembered Ruby saying something about a stray cat being found, clearly just having kittens. The feline had been adopted quickly, but the kittens were nowhere to be found.

 

She walked into the hospital and saw Dr. Thatcher, they had met a few times while she was at the diner.

 

“Emma,” he smiled. “How are you doing?”

“Good. I um, found this little one out there in the snow,” she laid her scarf on the counter and the veterinarian slowly pulled it back, seeing the little cat.

“Oh, she must be one of the kittens that the mama cat had,” he mused.

“Really?”

“Yes, they have similar coloring. Unfortunately, we have no spots right now in the pound.” He pulled out his supplies and performed a quick exam. “Well, I’ll say one thing, he’s a fighter.”

“He?”

“Yes, it is for sure a he. He’s not sick or anything, just a little cold.”

“Doesn’t he need vaccinations or something?” Emma had never had a pet before. Some foster families had dogs, but she could never remember them actually being taken to a vet.

“Not as of yet, he’s still quite small,” Dr. Thatcher scratched the cat behind the ears and dried him off. “But eventually, he would.”

“Um, so you said there are no vacancies at the pound?”

“That is correct. I could make some calls…”

“I’ll take him.”

Dr. Thatcher smiled. “Don’t you have to ask your parents?”

 

That hadn’t occurred to her.

 

“Well…I’ll bring him home and ask. If they say no, then I’ll help you find him a home,” Emma replied. She couldn’t leave this kitten, in a way he felt like a kindred spirit.

“Alright, sounds good. Here.” Dr. Thatcher reached under the counter and put together a bag. “This is some food that will be perfect for a kitten his size, on the house, just enough for a couple of days.”

“Thank you,” Emma replied. She adjusted the bag on her arm with the others and rewrapped the kitten in her scarf.

“I’ll expect to hear from you either way. If you keep him, he will need shots.”

“Thanks Dr. Thatcher. Merry almost Christmas.”

“You too, Emma.”

 

She carried her new friend out into the street, holding him close to her. A part of her knew her parents might say no, but she wasn’t about to leave things to chance. She had heard what happened to unwanted pets, they could be put down. Even if he was only with her for the night, it’d be worth it.

 

Emma headed home and saw both the truck and station wagon in the driveway. The kitten had stopped mewing and had simply fallen asleep (Emma checked to make sure it was actually still breathing).  She took a deep breath and headed inside.

 

“I’m home!” She called out.

Her parents walked in. “How was your shopping?” Mary asked.

“It was good. But I um…have an early Christmas surprise.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Emma slowly unwrapped the scarf, causing the kitten to wake up. A smile spread across David’s face and he walked over. “I found him in the snow, all alone and cold. I took him into Dr. Thatcher’s, but he said there were no vacancies at the pound, he thinks he belongs to that stray they found a while ago. Can we keep him?”

Before David could speak, his wife did. “I don’t know, Em. Pets are a big responsibility.”

“I’ll take care of him, I promise.” Emma said. “I already have some food and I’ll buy a litter box.”

“You don’t know how to teach him how to use it.”

“I do,” David said. He scratched the kitten behind the ears. “I had tons of pets growing up, I think it’ll be good for her.”

“You also lived on a farm,” Mary pointed out.

“So? We had barn cats and a few that lived in the house.”

“Please Mama,” Emma pleaded, pouting. She rarely asked for anything and she really, really wanted this. Mary sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Yeah, please Mama,” David said, looking up and pouting at his wife.

That caused his wife to roll her eyes. “Oh dear God, I have two children.”

“That’s not a no,” Emma said, hope rising in her.

“Alright, alright. We can keep the thing, but we are training it so it doesn’t pee all over the house and as soon as we can, we get it vaccinated and snipped, we don’t need more running around. And, you both are helping me out with it. When you moved in Emma you asked about chores, well consider him your first one,” Mary said, trying to find some sort of power over the situation.

A huge grin broke out across the two blondes’ faces. Emma gave the kitten to her father and threw her arms around her mother’s waist. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mama!”

Mary sighed yet again and hugged her back. “You’re welcome, sweets.” She looked over at her husband, who was making goo-goo eyes at the cat.

“I won, Mary,” David told her when he finally looked up, smirking.

“Don’t be so full of yourself.”

“What is he talking about?” Emma asked.

“When we got married, I wanted to get a pet. Your mother said no.”

“Because again, a lot of responsibility,” Mary interrupted.

“I told her one day we would have a kid and they would beg us for one.” He kissed Emma’s cheek. “So thank you, Princess.”

“You’re welcome, Daddy,” Emma replied with a giggle.

“If we’re keeping the weird thing, it’s going to need a name,” Mary said, crossing her arms.

“He,” Emma corrected. “You keep saying it, the kitty is a he.”

“Fine. What’s his name?”

“Hmmm…” The teen thought for a minute. “How about Oliver? Like Oliver and Company.”

“I love it.” David said, beaming. “Here, let’s see if we can teach him some tricks.” He lead Emma into the den and they set the kitten down. It walked around for a bit, peaking at things and rubbing itself against Emma.  David found some of Mary’s yarn from her knitting kit and cut a piece, holding it in front of the kitty. It began to bat at it, causing the father/daughter duo to laugh.

 

Mary stood watching and although she wanted to be annoyed, a smile was peaking across her lips.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Emma and her parents made up! And they have a new member added to the family right before Christmas! The next chapter will be Christmas Eve and Day! Hope you guys will enjoy having the holiday a little early. As always, I appreciate the reviews. :)


	18. Baby’s First Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like the presents I chose; it was kinda hard. I suck at buying gifts for adults haha.

Mary pulled back the sheets and saw the little kitten curled up by her pillow. She rolled her eyes. “Shoo, shoo,” she said, shaking her hands at it. “Shoo!”

David chuckled. “The kitty loves you, Mare.”

“Feeling’s not mutual. We’re only keeping this thing because Emma never asks for anything.”

“I forget; did you have pets growing up?”

“My dad got a dog to help him hunt. He was a mean one that bit me.”

“Oh my poor baby,” David mockingly cooed, pecking her lips.

Mary rolled her eyes and picked up the cat, handing it over to her husband before crawling into bed. David got in beside her, placing the kitten in the middle. He nuzzled himself against the blonde.

“You know why Emma brought him home, right?”

“Because there were no vacancies at the pound.”

“No, because this cat is hers.” David watched his wife raise an eyebrow. “Think about it, the little thing was abandoned and was alone for so long.”

The brunette sighed, stroking the kitten’s fur. “You’re making me feel guilty for being against it.”

“Not trying to, just making a point.”

“I just know what a big responsibility pets can be. Plus, this thing won’t live forever.”

“Nothing does.”

“I just don’t want Emma to be heartbroken when it…”

“He.”

“When he dies.”

David gave her a light smile. “I know we don’t want to admit it, but she will experience heartbreak at some points.”

“She’s my baby, I never want her hurting.”

“We’ll be there for her when she does, that’s all that matters.” He stroked her chin. “It’s alright to get attached to him.”

Mary made a face but kissed him. “We should get some sleep. You have to work in the morning and then we have our first Christmas Eve with our daughter.”

“Christmas Eve with our daughter, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.”

“Me too, love, me too.”

 

The next day, David left for work early so he would be home in time for the festivities that night. As always whenever he had to be up before his wife, he kissed her forehead. She stirred a bit, but of course didn’t wake. After getting dressed, he headed down the hall to Emma’s room, Oliver trailing behind him. He looked down at his daughter, who was still out like a light, lightly snoring. A grin spread across his face as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

 

“Merry Christmas Eve, Princess,” he whispered. She stayed asleep, that girl could sleep through anything if she really wanted to. He headed out the door, knowing as much as he loved his job, he couldn’t wait to get home to his family.

* * *

A few hours later, Emma awoke to someone pouncing on top of her. She screamed, causing Oliver to jump off her bed and then realized it was her mother.

 

“Mama!” She exclaimed, throwing her baby blanket at her. “You about gave me a heart attack.”

“Wake up! Wake up! It’s Christmas Eve.” Mary smiled at her daughter.

“You woke me up…on my day off…to tell me that?” Emma asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up for forever.”

The blonde glanced at her alarm clock. “It’s 10.”

“Still forever. Come on, let’s get dressed.”

“Dressed for what?”

“I’m going to deliver cookies and presents to the kids at the hospital, remember? You said you wanted to help.”

“Right, right.” Emma got out of bed and quickly got dressed, throwing back her hair into a bun. She headed downstairs where Mary was already starting on the bake goods.

“Alright, can you stir this?”

“Yeah. How’d you get started so quickly?”

“It’s just in my blood, one of the few memories I have of my mother.”

Emma softly smiled as she stirred the batter in one bowl. “What was she like?”

“She was very kind, unlike my father, the money didn’t get to her head. She actually started it in me to make cookies and buy presents for those in need. She always said it was very important to remember how lucky we are.”

“Sounds like she was a lot different than your father.”

“Yes, once I got older, I wondered exactly what she saw in him. I always assumed it might have been because it’s what was expected. I swore I wouldn’t do the same.”

“And you didn’t.” Emma fully smiled. “You and Daddy are perfect.”

“We’re not perfect,” Mary replied, blushing a little.

“You are. You’re totally devoted to one another. Even when you fight, it’s cute.”

Mary put her head on her hips and smirked. “How is it cute?”

Emma giggled. “Well, like the other night for example, Dad forgot to bring home milk and you yelled at him because it was like the fifth night in a row. So he went out and came back with milk for the house and chocolate for you.” Her mother giggled at the memory. “And then you told him to stop being a kiss up but then kissed him anyway. It’s just sweet…if I ever get married I want to have fights like that.”

Mary smiled, kissing her cheek. “When you get married, you will. But that won’t be for a long, long time.”

“Or if Daddy has his way, never.”

 

They finished up their baking and then Mary fetched the presents from the hall closet before handing Emma her jacket, hat scarf and gloves.

 

“Mom,” Emma whined.

“Emma,” Mary mocked her tone.

“I don’t need all that, it’s not that cold.”

“Yes, it is, come on, do you really want to get sick just before Christmas?”

 

Emma pouted but put everything on and put out some food for Oliver and following her mother out into the cold. Once they were in the station wagon, they took off.

 

“The kids won’t be able to eat the cookies, though,” Emma suddenly realized.

“I know, it’s for the staff that has to work on Christmas.” Mary turned on her blinker. “How’d you know that?”

“I was in the hospital once on Christmas.”

The brunette frowned. There was still a lot she didn’t know about her child. “Why?”

“I had an emergency tonsillectomy on Christmas Eve a couple years ago.”

“Oh.”

“It was fine, better than being in my foster home at the time.”

“Did anyone come see you?” She hated the thought of her baby girl being alone on Christmas, the thought of her having to be alone in the hospital was enough to make her heart break.

Emma thought for a moment. “The nurse on duty did. She was working a double shift and had to be away from her kids, so we sort of kept each other company. I couldn’t talk or anything, but she snuck me ice cream.”

Mary smiled. “Well I’m sure you enjoyed that.”

“Very much, it helped my throat. Anyway, that’s why I agreed to come. Being in the hospital on Christmas sucks.”

“I’m sure it does.” The brunette reached over and squeezed her hand. “You’ll never have to be alone again, you know that.”

“Yeah.” Feeling the car ride was too serious now, she decided to crack the joke. “How can I be when my mom jumps on my bed to wake me up.”

Mary giggled. “Just trying to have fun.”

 

Soon they arrived at the hospital and headed inside. Mary lead them up to the children’s ward where they dropped off the baked goods and then headed to where the recreational area where the kids who were well enough were out at some party. Emma hung back, feeling a little shy as her mother handed out the gifts. Some of them had parents there, others did not. Suddenly, the teen saw a girl who looked to be about 9 or 10 sitting in the corner. The blonde grabbed one of the presents that was for older kids and headed over.

 

“Hi, I’m Emma.”

“Grace,” the girl replied.

“Are you in the system?” Grace looked a little shocked. “I can tell when someone is from a mile away. I used to be…well I still am, kinda.”

Grace just nodded. “How long have you been?”

“Eight years. You?”

“Just a year. My dad’s in prison. He’ll be out soon, but in the meantime I’m stuck.”

Emma nodded. “So…why are you here?”

“I had my appendix taken out last night. They let me come out here as long as I stay in this stupid thing,” she pointed to her wheelchair.

“It sucks being here on Christmas, I know.” She knelt down to Grace’s level and handed her one of the presents. “Maybe this’ll make it a little easier?”

 

Meanwhile, Mary was chatting with one of the mothers that was there. Suddenly, the woman stopped and smiled.

 

“Well, I’ve seen Gracie here all day, but I haven’t seen her light up like that until now.”

Mary turned around and saw Emma chatting with a little girl in a wheel chair. The girl had a big smile on her face and was holding a CD and Walkman, one of the presents Emma had picked out for the older kids. Her daughter was chatting her up. A smile went across the brunette’s face.

“Who is that?” The woman asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen her around here before.”

“My daughter,” Mary replied, proudly.

 

In a way, she was grateful sometimes that Emma was humble. Of course she wished that she had always gotten what she wanted, like she deserved. But there were times when she seemed more down to Earth than other teens her age. That was something Mary had to be taught, due to all she was given in life. Yet it came so naturally to her daughter.

 

They stayed a little longer than Mary planned, but Emma just wouldn’t stop talking to Grace. The mother didn’t mind, she just helped clean up the party. Finally, Grace had to go back to get her medicine, so Emma went back to her mom. Mary wrapped her in a big hug and kissed her head. Emma was surprised, but hugged her back.

 

“What’s this for?”

“I just love you so much, my baby.”

“I love you too.”

 

They headed home and Emma headed upstairs, her kitten padding behind her. She began wrapping the presents she had gotten for her parents. It had taken her forever to pick the perfect presents for them. She had helped Ruby at Granny’s, secretly, over the past few weeks so she could afford to buy them and yet it was only recently she had figured out the perfect presents. She had gotten little presents (like a sweater for her mom and a CD for her dad), but couldn’t figure out the big ones. Finally, she landed on a large picture frame with pictures that Mary had taken over the past few months.

 

She had also come up with two coupon books for both of them. Back in elementary school, the teachers forced them to make them. She hadn’t ever given hers to anyone, they simply made it to the trash bin before they even left school. They were more of a silly thing, though she knew her parents would take them seriously. Especially the one saying that David was allowed to call her “Princess” in public.

 

After she was done wrapping, she carried the presents downstairs, putting them under the tree.

 

“I think you should let me open them now,” Mary commented. She was finishing wrapping her presents for David.

“Ha, no. You’re not letting me open mine.”

“Yes, but I’m the mom. I make the rules.”

“My gifts, my rules,” Emma replied with a smirk.

Mary rolled her eyes. “Evil little girl.”

 

After they finished making dinner, David walked through the door.

 

“Something smells good,” he said, kissing the top of Emma’s head before covering her eyes and pecking his wife’s lips. Emma giggled and batted his hand away.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Well you act like you’re going to throw up every time you have to watch us kiss.”

“Because it’s gross.”

“And I rest my case. What’d you two do today?”

“Took presents to the hospital along with some cookies,” Mary explained as they sat down at the table.

“Did you save any for me?” David questioned.

Mary rolled her eyes. “Yes, there’s plenty left.”

“I ate the extra batter, though,” Emma added.

“You rat, that’s the best part,” David joked, tousling her hair.

 

After they ate, Mary got out the rest of the baked goods, they all changed into the Christmas pajamas she had bought them (matching, of course, red with snowmen) and they went into the living room. David hung up the stockings-including a new one that read Emma-and fixed some cocoa before settling down beside his daughter.

 

“David, does she really need this much sugar? Tomorrow she’s going to have even more,” Mary said as she looked for a movie.

“It’s the holidays! We need lots and lots of sugar. Besides, hot chocolate isn’t really sugar.”

“David.”

“It’s a food group.”

Emma giggled. “Daddy’s right.”

 

Suddenly, Oliver appeared and hopped up into her lap. She slowly rubbed his fur. Mary put in the movie before sitting on the other side of Emma. The blonde rested her head on her shoulder and Mary smiled, pulling her into her side. David grinned, pulling out his phone to take a picture. Emma rolled her eyes.

 

“Daddy.”

“Your mother’s not the only one who knows how to take a picture.”

“Just don’t cut off our heads, darling,” Mary said.

“I don’t do that!”

“Tell that to our honeymoon photos.”

“Forgive me, I was a little distracted by you in that bikini.”

“I need brain bleach,” Emma muttered.

“One day sweets, you won’t find any of this gross,” Mary told her.

“That day comes after I die, right?” David asked.

Emma poked out her tongue. “I’ll always find my parents and their bedroom talk disturbing.”

 

The family watched the movie, Emma’s eyes were closed by the end. David chuckled, stroking her hair.

  
“Did she have a long day?” He asked.

“Sort of. She got to talking to this little girl at the hospital, I think she reminded her of her. She was so good with her though, got her to smile and everything.”

David grinned. “She’d make a good big sister.”

“She would,” Mary agreed. “I think about that sometimes. But it’s too soon.”

“I agree, eventually though.”

“Definitely. Why don’t you take our princess upstairs so I can put out her presents?”

“Sounds like a plan.” David rose to his feet, gathering Emma in his arms. Mary pressed a kiss to her forehead before he carried her upstairs, tucking her in. He smiled wider when her fists stayed tangled in his shirt.

“Mmm…Daddy…”

“Get some sleep baby, when you wake up Santa will have come.”

 

 He kissed her temple and moved her blanket into her arms before heading back downstairs. “Where’s the bike?”

“Box is in the garage. I wish you would’ve let me have August or Marco put it together.”

“I’ve got this.”

“It better be right, David. I don’t want my baby getting hurt.”

He rolled his eyes. “You worry way too much, she’ll be fine.”

“You got the helmet, knee pads and elbow pads right?”

“Yes, got an excellent deal on bubble wrap too.”

“You joke, but I see many kids with injuries from this. Whale even gave me statistics…”

“Remind me to kill him for feeding your delusions.”

 

Mary threw a roll of wrapping paper at him, causing him to laugh and pull her into his arms.

 

“I knew you’d be this kind of mother,” he muttered, rubbing noses with her. “I think you called me ten times my first day as a rookie.”

“I don’t care if this is Storybrooke, it was scary. God, I hope Emma doesn’t pick a dangerous career.”

“Well she wants me to teach her how to shoot, so good luck with that.”

“Tell me you told her no.”

“I did but you said you’d teach her to shoot an arrow.”

“Well…that’s different.”

“Uh huh.” He kissed her softly and she deepened it for a few minutes before finally pulling off.

“Those presents won’t wrap themselves.”

“Let’s go play Santa Claus.”

 

David assembled the bike, with just minor cursing. Meanwhile, Mary wrapped up the box containing her mother’s emerald ring and the other smaller gifts. Once David finished up with the bike, he stuck a red bow on it. The bike itself was blue with a white seat, no training wheels. Mary didn’t like that, but they made none for teens with them so it would have to do. Finally, David went into the closet and pulled out his already wrapped presents for Mary, placing them with the expanding pile under the tree.

 

“You wrapped before Christmas Eve?” She asked, in shock.

“I actually had Granny do them for me,” he admitted with a laugh.

“Why am I not surprised?” She checked the clock. “After midnight, we should head on up.”

“What time do you think she’s going to wake up?”

“I don’t know, hopefully we don’t have to wake her up like I did this morning.”

“She texted me about that, who’s the kid again?”

 

Mary rolled her eyes and swatted at him before following him to their bedroom.

* * *

The next morning, Emma woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking. Glancing over at her clock, she saw it was 8:30 AM. Too early to be up on a normal day off, but today was different. It was her first real Christmas. She crept down the stairs and stood in astonishment at the display in front of her. The stockings were fill and there were presents under the tree…including a bike with a big freaking bow on it. Tears filled her eyes, not out of sadness, but out of being overwhelmed while also filled with joy. Suddenly she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

 

“Merry Christmas, Princess!” David exclaimed, happily.

Emma giggled, batting away her stray tears as to not worry them and turned around. Her dad caught her face and frowned. “No, no, I’m crying because I’m happy, trust me.”

The smile returned to her father’s face and he kissed her forehead. “Let’s try smiles for happy.”

“Alright, alright.” She smiled, kissing his cheek. “Merry Christmas, Daddy.”

“I take it you saw the bike.”

“I did. Is it for me?”

“Is there another little girl here named Emma?”

The blonde giggled and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

He hugged her back tighter, cupping the back of her head. “You’re welcome, Princess.”

Mary appeared from the kitchen, smiling. “Merry Christmas, sweets!”

“Merry Christmas, Mama.” Emma got out of her father’s grasp, hugging her mom.

“I made special pancakes but they can wait while we open presents. Come on!”

“I think your mom’s the most excited out of all of us,” David whispered loudly, winking.

“It is my baby’s first Christmas, I’m allowed to be excited, David,” Mary replied, jabbing him in the stomach as she lead her daughter into the living room.

 

They started off with stockings and Emma noticed something.

  
“Does that one say Oliver?” She asked and as if the kitten knew they were talking about him, he sauntered over.

“Yeah, I didn’t get that one,” David said as he opened up a new ornament.  “Mary?”

“The fur ball’s apart of the family, he should get some presents,” the brunette grumbled.

“Aw Mama, you big softy,” Emma replied with a smirk.

“Shush you and finish opening your presents, help the cat open his too.”

 

Oliver, as it turned out, loved the wrapping paper more than the toys Mary had gotten him, so he played with that while they opened their other presents. Emma sat there for a minute, the tears welling up in her eyes again.

 

“I’ve never had anything like this,” she whispered.

Mary rubbed circles on her back. “I know baby, is it too much?”

“No, no,” Emma wiped the tears away. “It’s a little overwhelming, but I’m also just really happy. I finally have a family.”

“Yes, you do,” Mary pulled the girl onto her lap and hugged her tightly. She handed her a wrapped package. “Here, open this one.”

Emma noticed the paper said “Baby’s First Christmas” and had little princesses on it. All she could do was laugh as she opened it, to find a makeup kit inside. “Thank you, Mommy!” She kissed her cheek.

“You’re welcome, sweets. You’re beautiful without it, but I was younger than you when I learned. And David, yes, she can wear it to school.”

The man rolled his eyes. “You’re awfully mean on Christmas.”

“Here,” Emma reached over and grabbed a large present. “This one’s for both of you.” She climbed off her mother’s lap so her parents could open it together. They beamed down at all the pictures.

“This is so perfect, Princess,” David said.

“Definitely. How did we take so many pictures so quickly?”

“Because you’re obsessed with that camera,” Emma teased. Her parents pulled her in between them, squeezing her and kissing her cheeks over and over. She giggled. “Guys, you’re squishing me.”

“Get used to it,” Mary replied, before planting another kiss to her temple.

“Alright, I better give you one of the other ones so you can go back to your squeeze fest.” She gave them the coupon books, which made Mary cry and she saw David tear up a bit too.

“This is so awesome, Princess,” he said. “I really can call you that in public once without you freaking out?”

“Can’t promise I won’t blush, but I won’t throw anything at you,” she said, giggling.

“I’m redeeming a cuddle one right now,” Mary told her, handing her the construction paper and pulling her back into her arms, showering her with kisses again. Emma just smiled and clung to her mom. A few months ago, she wouldn’t have ever been okay with this much affection, but now it made her happier than ever.

 

They finished opening up their gifts and headed into the kitchen for peppermint pancakes and bacon, along with cocoa of course. The rest of the day they spent going out and looking at Christmas lights along with stopping by Granny’s for a late lunch, where once again it seemed like everyone was there. For Emma’s first Christmas, she found it to be pretty hard to top. At the end of the night, they sat by the tree, Christmas carols playing in the background. Mary snapped a picture of David holding Emma on his lap.

 

“First Christmas as a family a success,” she muttered, a tear of joy trickling down her cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the nice fluffy Christmas chapter! Emma had her first holiday ever with her new family and it was so much fun to write! As always, reviews make me smile!


	19. David In Charge

A few days after Christmas, David sat at the station, looking over some paperwork. Mary walked in holding a Tupperware container.

 

“Hello my love,” she said with a smile.

David matched it, rising to her feet and kissing her. “Hey. What do I owe this surprise to?”

“I wanted to drop by some lunch, I made it for me and Emma but of course I don’t know portion control, even if Emma eats like a teenage boy,” Mary teased.

He chuckled. “Where is our daughter anyway?”

“She went sledding with Ruby and Lily.”

“Are you sure she’s not just ice skating on the lake again?”

“No, I actually dropped her off this time, plus I think she learned her lesson. There is something I need to talk to you about, though.”

David sat down, pulling up a chair in front of him so Mary could sit. “What’s up?”

“I got a call from my dad earlier.”

“What am I killing him over now?”

“Surprisingly he didn’t say anything wrong. My grandmother is very ill, though, they don’t think she has much time left.”

Her husband frowned. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, we weren’t extremely close. However since I’m a teacher and have this time off, apparently I’m the only one that can go down there and make sure hospice is handled and eventually the funeral, they don’t expect her to make it through the week. I know that you can’t take time off work and honestly, I don’t want to put Emma through my train wreck of a family, she’s got enough issues as it is…” Mary rambled.

“Baby, if you need to go down there, I can have things covered,” David assured her, taking both of her hands.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, she’s been hanging out with Ruby, Lily and Baelfire a lot and when she’s not, well she loves coming to work with me anyway so all will be fine.”

Mary frowned. “I don’t want you two ordering out every night, it’s not healthy.”

“Hey!” David protested, in mock offensiveness. “I can cook!”

“Barely,” Mary gave him a smirk.

“We’ll figure something out.”

The brunette sighed. “I’ve never been away from her overnight before.”

“I know but it was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“What if she needs me? Clearly she adores you, David, but…”

“But you’re her mother. I get it. However, she’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want her to think I’m abandoning her.”

“You’re going to take care of family, I’m sure she’ll understand that, hell she’ll probably even respect you for it.”

Mary sighed. “Alright, alright.”

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, you know. Make your father take off time.”

“No, he’d be a total jerk about it.”

“You know, I’m going to miss you,” he told her, kissing her.

“I’m gonna miss you too.” She wheeled her chair closer to his, deepening the kiss for a moment.

David pulled off after a moment. “You know I’m the only one here today…”

“David! You are not seriously suggesting we do it here.”

“Why? We did it before, that one time when I had to work the night shift.”

“Yeah, well still,” she checked her watch. “Anyway, I have to go pick up Emma now.”

“She can walk.”

“David!”

He chuckled. “I’m just kidding. Go pick up our baby.”

“Yeah, you’re making me feel real confident that I can leave you two alone.”

“I am her father, you know.”

“Yes, I’m aware. But sometimes you’re like a second child,” she winked as she stood up. “By the way, don’t let her puppy dog eyes let her get away with stuff.”

“I don’t do that.”

“Uh huh, that little girl is wrapped around your finger.”

“I can’t help that she’s adorable.”

 

Mary rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time.

 

“I’ll see you later.”

 

The brunette drove over to the park where Emma was chatting with the girls. Mary let her talk, not wanting to rush her and just turned up the heat a little bit. Suddenly Baelfire ran up behind Emma, throwing a snow ball at her hair. The blonde screeched and threw one back at him, which just made him laugh. Mary smiled. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for her little girl to be dating, but she could tell that Baelfire would most likely be her first boyfriend. He clearly had a crush on her and Emma was very close with him. They were alike in many ways.

 

Eventually, Emma saw her mom and said goodbye to her friends and ran over, getting in the car.

 

“Were you waiting long?”

“Not long at all, sweets,” Mary began to pull out of the parking lot. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, Bae was being really silly though.”

Mary smiled to herself, remembering boys that age. Even David had sometimes acted ridiculously goofy when they first began dating, just to get her attention. “That sounds like him.”

“What’d you do while I was gone?”

“I brought some lunch to Daddy and talked to him about something, we have to talk too.”

“Did Oliver get into your shoes again?”

“No, no, not that. I got a call from my father today.” Mary explained the whole story as she had to David.

“Well of course you have to go, she’s your grandmother.”

The brunette smiled lightly. Her daughter was such a sweet, understanding girl. “I just don’t want to leave you.”

“I’ll be fine, I’ll be with Daddy.”

“Yes, but I’ve never left you like this before.”

“I’ll take care of Dad, don’t worry.”

Mary giggled. “That is what I was thinking would happen.”

Emma smiled. “Really Mama, we’ll survive. Of course, we’ll miss you but this is what you need to do.”

“Just know I’m only a phone call or text away.”

“I know, I know. And I’m sure you’ll call and text a million times yourself.”

“I am not that bad.”

“Mama, sometimes I get 15 texts a day when I see you.”

“I worry, so sue.”

* * *

The next morning, David put Mary’s suitcase into the trunk of her car while she practically squeezed Emma to death.

 

“Mama,” Emma whined, though she was secretly enjoying this.

“Listen to your father and don’t get into trouble,” Mary told her, ignoring her whines. “But have fun, too.”

“We will, we will.”

Mary kept her grip on her, though she lightened it a bit. “And you can’t have hot chocolate for breakfast every morning.”

“Oh quit being a fun sucker, Mary,” David joked. He managed to pry his wife away and held her arms in his. “I promise I will take very special care of our little girl.”

“I know, I know,” Mary sighed and looked back at her daughter, who was looking a little sad.

 

Emma really didn’t want Mary to go, she of course had nothing against her father, she just had a very special bond with her mom. She’d feel the same if David was leaving. If one of them wasn’t around, it was like their family was incomplete or something. Mary pulled her back into her arms.

 

“I’ll be back before you know it baby,” she told her, kissing her temple.

“I know.” Emma buried her head in her shoulder.

 

David couldn’t help but smile at the scene. Of course, he was going to miss his wife as well and he didn’t like his daughter upset, but he loved how close they were. Yes, they didn’t always agree but they were beginning to have a tradition overprotective mother/teenage daughter relationship and it was an interesting development.

 

Suddenly, Mary felt something running against her legs. She looked down to see Oliver there. Her eyes rolled a bit, but she picked him up.

 

“Don’t worry fur ball, I won’t be around to make fun of you. Emma, don’t forget to feed him and change the litter box,” Mary reminded.

“I will, I will.” Emma took her kitty, who purred and nuzzled against her shoulder.

 

Mary leaned over to kiss David.

 

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too. Call me when you get there, okay?”

“Of course.”

 

She gave Emma one last hug and kiss and they bid their “I love you’s”, before getting in her car and driving away. Emma let out a sigh and David wrapped his arms around her.

 

“She’ll be back soon, baby,” he told her.

“I know, I’m just going to miss her.”

“I will too. But we have each other.”

 

Emma’s lips were still in a frown so he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

 

“I hid chocolate from Mama.”

 

The frown slowly turned into a big smile.

 

“So are we breaking her not too much junk food rule?”

“What do you think?

 

A little later, Emma was going through her closet to find a sweatshirt when her suitcase fell down. She opened it, just to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything and came across some pictures she had saved, hidden in a secret compartment. Growing up in the system didn’t guarantee her many but some foster families took them and she always managed to swipe them. In her mind, she was never going to be there long anyway, so why should the family get any memories of her?

 

There were only a few: one from around the time she was 6, another from when she was about 8 and then finally one from right before she was placed with her parents. She had actually scanned that one from a classmate’s yearbook and cropped.

 

“Princess?”

 

She looked up to find David standing there.

 

“Why do you have your suitcase out?”

“It fell and then I found some stuff in it I never unpacked.”

David crouched down beside her. He recognized the school photo, but not the other two. “Who is that little girl? One of your foster sisters?”

Emma giggled. “No Daddy, that’s me.”

He sat down completely, gently taking them out of her hands. In one, Emma was wearing a princess costume, probably from Halloween and while she was smiling with her mouth, her eyes definitely weren’t. The second, was the younger one, she was grinning from ear to ear and she looked absolutely adorable, but her arm was in a cast. A frown ran across his face. “What happened?”

“I fell out of a tree house at my second foster home,” she explained.

“Oh,” his forehead creased.

“I was fine, it wasn’t broken, just fractured, I think. I was just upset because I couldn’t play outside at recess.”

“Did they take care of you?”

“Um, possibly? I don’t really remember it very well.”

The blonde man sighed, pulling her close to him and onto his lap. “I wish I could’ve been there for you.”

“I bet you would’ve been freaking out the entire time,” Emma said, trying to lighten the mood. “You would’ve killed Dr. Whale for not letting you be there when I got X-Rays.”

“You’re probably right,” David agreed. “Though you probably would’ve conned him into giving you a ton of candy. You’d use your eyes.”

“On him and you, you probably would’ve bought me a million teddy bears.”

“You’d be one very spoiled little girl, that’s for sure,” he smiled lightly, stroking her hair.

“And Mama would’ve made me take the gross medicine and made me drink some sort of juice.”

“Plus made you rest. You would’ve snuck out though.”

“With your help, of course.”

“Of course, those eyes,” he smiled fully, kissing her head.

She laid her head against his shoulder. “You don’t have to feel bad.”

“What?”

“That you weren’t there.”

“Emma…”

“You didn’t even know I existed. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay, I wish I could’ve been there for you, for everything, to see this you,” he mumbled.

“But you have me now and you’re the best dad ever, so it makes up for it.”

 

He smiled and held her closer.

 

“Just promise me that you won’t fall out of anymore treehouses,” he told her, sternly.

She giggled. “I promise. I think I only fell out because my foster brother tried to kiss me and I thought it was gross.”

“See, now that you’re allowed to think.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Of course. But I was only six at the time.”

 

They spent the rest of the day together, with David showing Emma pictures from his and Mary’s wedding. After they had takeout and got to talk to Mary for a bit. She had arrived to New York safely and her family was already driving her nuts, but she assured them that she would be just fine. Emma was as usual exhausted by the time their movie was over, so she headed up to bed before it was even that late. David was cleaning up the dishes when he heard screaming coming from upstairs. He bolted up there, throwing the door back.

 

Emma was tossing back and forth. He sat beside her and gently shook her awake.

 

“Shhh baby, it’s okay, it’s just a dream,” he cooed. “Daddy’s here.”

Her green eyes flickered open and she threw her arms around his neck. “Daddy.”

“Don’t worry Princess, I’m right here,” he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back.

“Don’t leave me, Daddy.”

“I won’t, baby, I won’t.”

“You did.”

“Huh?”

“In my dream. You left.”

“Oh baby,” he continued to rub soothing circles in her back. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I love you so much.”

She sniffled, burying her head in his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you more, Princess.”

 

They stayed like that for a moment until Emma finally calmed down, though she kept her grip on her father. He laid a kiss to her head.

 

“Better?”

She slowly nodded. “Uh huh.”

“Why don’t I lay with you until you go back to sleep?”

“Okay, Daddy.”

 

He helped her lay down while still keeping her in his grip. He reached over and pulled her baby blanket on top of her. He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

 

“Sleep, baby.”

“I miss Mama,” she muttered, feeling really childish but she didn’t care. Normally after a nightmare she had both of her parents.

“I know, Princess, I know,” he felt his heart breaking a little bit. It was completely understandable that she’d want her too, he just wish he could give that to her. “But here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, pulling up a picture of Mary on his phone. “Now it’s almost like she’s here.”

 

Soon Emma fell asleep, but had her grip so tightly on David that he couldn’t possibly get up without waking her.

 

“Guess I’m sleeping here tonight,” he muttered. He tried to find a comfortable position, but there really wasn’t one that he could think of. Emma’s bed wasn’t exactly small, but the way she was laying, she took up most of the bed. He carefully adjusted her so she was on top of his chest and rubbed her back. “That’s better.”

 

The next morning Emma woke up, the smell of her father’s cologne in her nostrils. Next she heard his light snoring. He looked up and realized she was laying on his chest, her legs spiraled off onto the side. She blushed a little and climbed off, causing him to wake up.

 

“Morning Princess.”

“Morning. I thought you said you were going to leave once I fell asleep.”

“You were clinging to me so bad, I couldn’t move.”

She blushed deeper. “Sorry.”

“Hey, never be sorry for needing me.” He kissed her forehead and got out of bed, stretching.

“Imagine if the town knew that their sheriff just slept on a bed with pink paisley sheets,” she teased.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re an evil little girl. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes?” She asked hopefully.

“Yes, but if your mom asks, they were just regular.”

“Deal.”

 

The two of them headed downstairs and Emma decided to call her mother while he cooked.

 

“Morning Mama,” she said once she answered.

She could practically see Mary’s smile through the phone. “Hey sweets, how are you?”

“Pretty good. Daddy’s making breakfast.”

“What’s he making?”

“Pancakes.”

“Sounds good.”

“How are things there?”

“As good as they could be, we got my grandmother settled last night. I’m just getting some coffee before I go in.”

“I miss you.”

“Oh baby, I miss you too. Hopefully I won’t be here very long. Can I talk to Daddy please?”

“Sure.” She turned to David who was just grabbing the chocolate chips. “Dad, Mom wants to talk to you.”

 

David grabbed the phone and held it between his ear and shoulder as he cooked.

 

“Hey love, how are you?”

“As well as can be expected. How about you?”

“We are great.”

“Did she have another nightmare?”

David had texted Mary after he had adjusted Emma, figuring she had the right to know. “Uh, no. Everything is good.”

“Great, what are you two doing today?”

“I have to work an afternoon shift; I don’t know what Emma’s doing.”

“I’m going out with Lily,” she called from the table. “If that’s okay. She wants to play video games.”

“That’s fine, Princess.” David turned back to the phone. “Apparently, she’ll be playing video games with Lily.”

“Nothing too violent.”

David cupped his hand over the speaker. “Mama says nothing violent.”

Emma rolled her eyes and groaned. “Whatever.”

“Don’t whatever me young lady,” Mary said.

“She said don’t whatever her…young lady.” David winked and turned his attention back to his wife. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Uh huh. What kind of pancakes are you making?”

“Oh you know…just the regular kind.”

“Regular?”

“Yeah, I mean, you know my secret ingredient of course, but outside that…”

“You bought chocolate chips, didn’t you?”

“No…”

“Okay, I’ll buy it. For now. If our daughter has trouble sleeping due to increase of sugar intake, it’s on you.”

He chuckled. “I miss you nagging us in person.”

“That all you miss?”

“Well, there’s more but our daughter is in the kitchen.”

“Alright, that’s it. Emma out.”  Emma got up and walked out of the room.

“And we just scarred her for life, again,” he told his wife with a laugh.

“Alright, I better go. But I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Give Em a kiss for me.”

“I will. Call me later.”

“For sure.”

 

He hung up the phone and finished up breakfast.

 

“Emma, you can come back in now.”

“Are you and mom still sexting?”

“Hey! How do you know what sexting is?”

“I’m thirteen. I don’t do it, but I’ve heard of it.”

 

She walked back in and sat down.

 

“Do your friends do it?” He asked, putting them on the table.

“Oh my God, no, Dad.”

“Good, because you’re only thirteen.”

“I’m aware.”

 

The two of them ate their breakfast before getting ready for the day. After David left for the station, Emma got a text from Lily that she got roped into working at her father’s store so the video games would have to wait. She was feeling bored so she texted Baelfire to come over to watch movies. He showed up 15 minutes later with hot chocolate and candy.

 

“You didn’t have to bring me anything,” she said as she let him in.

“I wanted to,” he gave her a smile. “What movies are we going to watch?”

“I was thinking maybe a Friday the 13th marathon.”

“Sounds good.”

 

She tried to get the DVD player to work, but it started acting weird. David had mentioned getting  a new one recently so it wasn’t a surprise.

 

“We could go watch them upstairs on my laptop if you want,” she suggested.

Baelfire hesitated for a moment but then grinned. “Sure.”

“Great.” She picked up the movies and he grabbed the snacks and the two headed up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy to have another one up! Mary’s away, David in charge and Emma’s bringing a boy up to her room. How will this go?


	20. Uncomfortable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mentions of child abuse, I know this is tagged already, but fair warning.

Emma opened the door to her bedroom and Baelfire walked in, looking around.

 

“Very girly,” he commented with a smirk.

“Well I am a girl,” Emma retorted, grabbing her laptop from her desk.

Bae picked up her blanket. “What’s this?”

Blush filled her cheeks. “Oh, uh, it’s just the only good thing I have from my childhood.”

He smiled. “Don’t be embarrassed. I still have a teddy bear that I sleep with.”

“Does it have a name?”

“You’ll laugh.”

“You didn’t laugh at me, I won’t at you.”

“Rumpelstiltskin.”

She grinned. “That is so cute.”

“It’s my favorite fairytale, my papa and I used to read it all the time.”

“Aww.”

He rolled his eyes and sat on the bed. She sat beside him and put in the first movie. Bae handed her a Styrofoam cup and leaned back with his own. Emma leaned back beside him and it started.

 

About half-way through the first, she realized what was going on. She had a boy, in her room. Bae wasn’t even trying anything and her anxiety was low. But David’s words rang in her head.

 

_“No boys in your room and no boys there when we’re not home.”_

She hadn’t even thought of Bae like that. Clearly he was a boy, but he was just her friend. Her eyes glanced over at her alarm clock. 1:30. Her dad wasn’t due home until after 6. Bae would be gone by then and she’d be in the clear. She didn’t want to lie, but given how David reacted to the thought of her dating, it was probably best. She looked over at Bae, who smiled at her for a minute before returning his attention to the movie.

 

Towards the end, there was a jump scare, causing Bae to spill his hot chocolate all over his shirt.

 

“Crap” he muttered, he glanced down at the sheets. “I didn’t get it on here did I?”

“No, you didn’t, it’s okay. Did it hurt?” She had memoires of a foster sister spilling hot coffee on her chest, accidentally, and it hurt like hell.

“No, it was cold by now.” He grabbed a napkin and dabbed at it.

“I could get that out,” she offered.

“You don’t have to…”

“Growing up in foster and group homes has given me mad laundry skills.”

 

He hesitated or a moment and then took off his shirt. A scar ran from his rib cage down to his stomach.

 

“What happened there?” she asked.

“Before my mom left…made the mistake of talking back.”

She frowned. “Bae, I am so sorry.”

He shrugged. “It’s alright.”

“Did she hurt you often?”

“Only when drunk.  It’s fine now, she’s gone.”

“Does your dad know?”

“After she left, when I thought she was dead, I finally told him. It’s partially why he’s so overprotective. And why I hate taking off my shirt, it’s embarrassing.”

 

Emma thought of her own scars from her incident months ago. They were lighter but due to how deep she cut, they would always be there. Sure, it was self-inflicted, but she never wanted anyone to see them or know the mistake she had made.

 

“I get it,” she told him with a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ve been through a lot worse,” he replied, almost sounding sorry for even bringing it up. “I shouldn’t complain.”

“There’s no Pain Olympics, Bae,” she whispered. “We all go through stuff and it’s okay to talk about it.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, causing him to blush and once she realized what she had done, she did too. “I’m gonna uh, go watch this. Wait here.”

 

She rand own to the laundry room and worked her magic on the shirt before tossing it in the wash. When she turned around, she found him standing there.

 

“I thought I might help you.”

“Uh no, I got it,” she stammered. At the moment, she got a text from her mom.

 

**How’s Lily’s?**

Emma knew she had two choices. Lie and say it was great or be honest ad say her friend cancelled, so she had Bae over. She figured she could omit him, but then her mom would worry about her being alone and she was going through enough as it is.

 

“You okay?” Baelfire asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Fine. My mom is just texting me.”

“Am I not supposed to be here?”

Emma sighed. “It’s not you, it’s any boy. I didn’t really think about it until you got here. I don’t think of you as a boy.”

Baelfire laughed. “Well I do have the parts.”

“You know what I mean!” The blonde playfully slapped his shoulder. “We’re friends, obviously, what they’re worried about happening, won’t.”

“Obviously,” Bae repeated. He knew she was right. As much as he wanted to kiss her, they were just friends. And knowing what he did about Emma, he wasn’t going to be the one to make the first move.

“I want you to stay, I just don’t want to lie.”

“Can I see your phone?”

  
She nodded and handed it over. He studied Mary’s text.

 

“Tell her you left Lily’s and we went to the movies. Not really a lie.”

“You’re pretty good at this.”

“Protective parents make good liars.”

  
She smiled and took her pone back, texting her mom what he had suggested. Mary told her to have fun and enjoy. She felt guilty for the lie, but also knew it was necessary, at least in her mind.

 

The two went back upstairs, though with Bae’s shirt off, Emma felt super uncomfortable. She knew he wouldn’t try anything but it wasn’t something she liked. It wasn’t even like she could explain what was wrong, she didn’t know. Shirtless guys had never been a trigger for her before. She moved her inhaler closer to her, remembering where her parents kept her beta blockers, just in case. If anything, she could say she had an anxiety attack after David left.

 

_More lies, more lies. And you just got done being mad at them for doing the same._

She wasn’t sure how she’d explain it to Bae, either. He had been around her for a panic attack before, but that was so embarrassing. And it’d be even worse if he found out that he was the cause of it. He was such a sweet guy, none of this was his fault.

 

In the midst of the second movie, Emma switched Bae’s shirt to the dryer. It would take 45 minutes for it to be ready.

 

“45 minutes,” she told herself. “45 minutes, then you can lie and say Dad’s coming home early.”

 

She hated she couldn’t be like Lily or Ruby. They wouldn’t think twice about sitting next to a shirtless guy. Lily would probably even be cracking a million jokes until the guy was the one that felt uncomfortable. But just as scars showed on the outside, there were still unhealed ones on the inside.

 

“Are you okay?” Bae asked when she got back upstairs.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’re really pale.” He touched his hand to her cheek and she gently pulled away.

“Seriously, Bae, I’m fine. Let’s just watch the movie.”

 

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment but then turned his eyes back to the screen.

 

Eventually, it was dry and Bae followed Emma downstairs. The blond left him to chance and headed towards the living room. That’s when she noticed David’s truck in the driveway.

 

She was so totally busted. There was no back way out and making Bae sneak out a window just seemed overly dramatic. The door opened and her dad walked inside.

 

“Hey Princess,” he said, kissing her head.

“Hi Daddy, you’re home early.”

“Graham needed more hours. So I let him take the end of my shift. Mama texted that you were with Baelfire.”

“Um, well…”

“Are you okay, baby? You’re as white as a sheet.” He put a hand to her forehead. “No fever. What’s going on?”

 

As if on cue, Bae came out of the back.

 

“You did a great job Em…” He trailed off when he saw the two of them. “Sheriff Nolan, hi.”

 

David looked from him to Emma. That’s when he realized what was wrong with her. She wasn’t sick and she wasn’t scared, she looked extremely guilty. Way too guilty for Baelfire to have just come over then. He was trying to stay calm, he really was. Exploding in front of the boy could ruin his image as sheriff and also embarrass Emma. He was still holding out hope that there was a reasonable explanation for all of it.

 

“What’s going on here?”

“Um, well, Lily cancelled, so I called Bae to watch movies,” Emma admitted.

David’s eyebrows arched. “The DVD player’s not working.”

“We watched them in my room.”

 

Her green eyes hit the ground, she didn’t even want to look at her dad. David stared at her for a minute, his frustration building. But, he wasn’t about to embarrass her.

  
“Baelfire, I think you should go home,” he finally said after a few beats.

“Yes sir, see you around, Em.” He grabbed his jacket and walked out.

 

David continued to stare at his daughter, while she took a sudden great interest in the floor.

 

“Emma, look at me.”

“We didn’t do anything!” Emma exclaimed, her head shooting up.

“Emma, voice,” David warned.

She bit her lip, lowering it. “I promise Dad, we just watched movies in my room.”

“I’ve told you, no boys over when we’re not home and no boys in your room, at all.”

“But we didn’t…”

“I don’t care if you didn’t do anything!” David nearly shouted and then saw the fear in Emma’s eyes. He sighed, trying to calm down, counting back from ten. He was upset, but he didn’t want to hurt his daughter with words or his voice level. “I shouldn’t have yelled, I just asked you not to, I’m sorry.” She merely nodded. “I trust that you watched movies. You’re a good kid.”

Emma felt relieved, though she felt that there was more. “But?”

“But you are 13. You are too young to be alone with boys in private. On top of that, you lied to your mother, which is something I thought all of us were working on.”

“I just…” But once again, she was cut off by her father.

“You didn’t want to get caught,” he finished for her.

 

Emma’s eyes went back to the ground, knowing he was right. It hadn’t even been worth it, considering she spent the better half of it being uncomfortable. Not hat she would tell her father that, he’d blow his lid.

 

“I have to tell your mother.”

She bit her lip. “Do you?”

“You lied to her, yes.” He saw the worry on Emma’s face and thought about it for a minute. “Actually, I won’t tell her.”

“Really?”

“No, you will.”

“Dad…”

“You lied, so you have to come clean. It’s the only way you’re going to learn.”

“Alright,” she mumbled. “Am I punished?”

David had been trying to think about that over the past few minutes. He knew she should be grounded, but he figured he could go easy on her, after all, she did seem to feel sorry. “Until Mama gets back, you can come to the station with me. No going out with your friends, since obviously you don’t feel like telling us the truth.”

“Okay.” She turned around and headed upstairs, the guilt filling her. He was so disappointed with her and it hurt. She wanted so badly to tell him how uncomfortable she was but knew that’d just make him madder. “He’d probably even say I deserved it,” she mumbled.

 

Sliding down onto her bed, she texted Mary asking if she was busy. The woman replied no, that she was taking a break while a cousin took over. Fumbling with her fingers, she pressed 1 on her speed dial.

 

“Hey sweets,” Mary’s voice traveled through the phone, adding to the teen’s guilt.

“Hi Mama. I, um, have something to tell you.”

“What is it? Are you okay?” She could tell her mother was panicking.

“I lied to you,” she blurted out.

“Lied to me?” Mary repeated the words slowly, as if she wasn’t sure if she heard her right.

Emma sighed and explained the whole thing from Lily cancelling to not thinking about the rules and inviting Bae over. She even mentioned the hot chocolate part, leaving out how uncomfortable she felt. There was silence for a moment. “Mama,” Emma breathed. Her father was upset enough; she couldn’t handle the silent treatment from her other parent.

“I am disappointed in you, Emma Ruth” Mary said.

Emma hung her head. “I’m disappointed in me too,” she mumbled.

“I may not freak out about boys like your father does but you are only 13. You have plenty of time to be alone with boys at our house. Even if Bae is just a friend. And I’m not entirely comfortable with the fact that he was shirtless around you.”

 _Join the club._ “I know.”

“But most importantly, you lied to me. I can get it slipped your mind that Bae falls under “no boys in your room” but once you figured it out, you should’ve gone out somewhere or at the very least told me the truth when I texted to check up on you. I need to know where you are, in case anything was to happen to you.”

“It won’t happen again.”

Mary sighed. “I know it won’t. Baby, you have to be honest with me. Remember, no more secrets?”

Emma nodded and then remembered her mom wasn’t there so she added a quiet, “Yes.” A beat passed. “You forgive me?”

“Of course I do, I always will.” There was a pause. “Were you completely okay with Bae being there shirtless?”

 

_How does she know me so well?_

 

“No,” Emma admitted.

“Oh baby.”

“It’s my own fault, I asked for it…” She was harshly cut off by her mother.

“Emma, _no_. You did not ask for any of this. If you feel uncomfortable, that’s not okay.”

“But It wasn’t Bae’s fault.  He wasn’t trying to do anything, he didn’t mean to spill it…”

“It still made you feel wrong and if you’re ever in a situation like that, you should get out of it anyway you can. Even if the person is completely innocent, trust your instincts.”

Tears sprang to Emma’s eyes. “How could I have?”

“I’m sure Bae had a jacket. It’s not ideal for him to walk home in just that, but he could’ve also called his dad or Belle.”

All reasonable suggestions, all ones she wished she had thought of at the time. Of course in her mind, it all could’ve been avoided in the first place. “I feel so stupid,” Emma whispered.

“Emma, never feel stupid for not wanting to do something with a boy. You have every right to feel comfortable and safe.” Mary’s voice was full of love and softness. “Okay, baby?”

“Okay. I’m sorry, Mama.”

“It’s alright, baby girl. I love you so much, you know that?”

“Yes. I love you too.” She really just wanted her mom at the moment, to hug her. She teased Mary for squeezing her too tight sometimes, but she’d give anything for one of her famous death grip hugs at that moment. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, sweets. Why don’t you let me call Daddy, okay? But you text me if you need to talk about anything.”

“I will.”

“You going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I just wish you were here.”

“I know my baby; I wish I was too. It shouldn’t be long now.”

 

The two hung up and Emma laid back on her bed, hugging her baby blanket tight. She searched through her contacts and texted Bae…

 

**Emma: Make it home okay?**

**Bae: Yeah. Was your dad really mad?**

**Emma: Kinda. He didn’t really yell but I can tell he’s upset.**

**Bae: He called my papa, who then decided to lecture me on how it’s inappropriate to go up to a young lady’s room.**

 

Blush filled Emma’s cheeks.

 

**Emma: Oh my God, Bae. I am so sorry.**

**Bae: It’s fine, he was right.**

**Emma: You’re not in trouble, are you?**

**Bae: No, but I think even with your parents’ home, I won’t be going to your place any time soon.**

 

The teen groaned, shutting her eyes. She knew eventually she and her father would have to have a more in depth talk. She just wasn’t sure if she should be prepared for it to be totally awkward or if there’d just be more yelling. Only Mary’s phone call would tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so this was a super short chapter. To be honest, I wrote it out in a notebook and assumed it was longer than it actually was and I tried adding to it, but it just seemed to take away from the overall vibe. Sometimes less is more anyway. I hope you all enjoyed! You’ll see more of David’s P.O.V in the next chapter, I wanted to stick to more Emma’s feelings plus include the Mama Snow phone call. Please keep reviewing!


	21. Daddy’s Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared…lots of Daddy Charming feels ahead! I do want to write more Mama Snow, as well but since Mary’s currently away, David’s gotta save the day. Ignore the cheesy rhyme haha.

David hung up the phone after speaking to Ralph Gold. He wasn’t sure if he had made the right choice there, he just wanted to make his standards clear. Luckily, Ralph wasn’t keen on the two teens being alone either and said he would talk to his son about it.

 

A sigh escaped his lips as he thought about Emma. There were times when he forgot that she was 13. In many ways, she did seem like a little girl, from the way she clung to him and the movies they watched. And a part of him knew he and Mary did baby her a bit, due to her past. But the reality was she was a teen. She was still his little girl, but these problems would pop up.

 

He hoped dating was off her mind for a long, long time. She just wasn’t ready in his head. The day she did date would put all the boy sin Storybrooke in danger. That was his baby and he didn’t want her to get hurt or grow up too fast.

 

Seeing Baelfire walk out was hard for him. He knew Emma was still so young and not completely jaded, that of course she didn’t think of Bae as a boy to keep out. It just reminded him of her innocence despite what she had been through. Plus, even if she was ready, anything could set off her PTSD. All it would take is one touch, seemingly innocent to the boy, and she could have a panic attack. She just wasn’t ready and to him this wasn’t even him being overly protective.

 

He pushed all the thoughts away and began to make dinner. His wife was right, he could barely cook outside breakfast foods, but it was nearly impossible to screw up mac and cheese, so he got started. Halfway through, his cell rang. When he answered it, Mary’s voice flowed into his ear.

 

“Hey babe,” she said.

“Hi. Emma talk to you?”

“Yeah, she told me everything and I’m assuming there’s something she left out with you.”

David let out a frustrated sigh. “What now?”

“Baelfire spilt something on his shirt so Emma washed it while he was here. Which means…”

“That not only was he up there but he was shirtless?!?” David exploded. He was starting to think that this boy wasn’t so innocent.

“Shhh, David. I believe it was an accident, really. But I think Emma didn’t tell you because the whole thing made her uncomfortable.”

“Did she tell him that?”

“No. Because in her mind, it’s her fault and that she was stupid for feeling that way.”

The blonde’s anger slowly melted away ad he frowned. “You told her that she was wrong, right?”

“Of course I did, but she’s still upset.”

“So she didn’t tell me because she thought it was her fault?”

“That plus I think she thought you would say the same thing.”

“I would never do something like that.”

“I know that, you know that. Look, from what she told me, it did slip her mind that Bae would fall under the “no boys” rule.”

“We’re not being unreasonable about that are we?”

“No, she’s thirteen. If we had a son, I’d feel the same way about girls. Plus, I do think he has a crush on her.”

“Great, so now I do have to kill him,” David grumbled.

Mary giggled slightly. “Anyway, she made a mistake and she should’ve rectified it when she realized what was going on. I’m honestly more upset about the lying than anything, so I don’t think her punishment should be anything to severe.”

“I had told her she had to go to the station with me until you got back.”

“Seems fair. I don’t think anything else needs to be taken away, she feels guilty enough.”

“I know.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I yelled at her. I apologized right after, but I lost my temper.”

“It happens.”

“I just never wanted to yell at her.”

“David, you were frustrated, it’s fine.”

“I feel like I’m failing you here.”

“Oh baby,” Mary sighed. “You’re not failing.”

David leaned against the counter, shutting his eyes. “You’ve been gone 36 hours and during that time, our 13-year-old has lied to us and had a boy in her room, who was shirtless. She also thinks that I’d blame her for having a normal reaction given what she’s going through, plus I yelled at her. I’m so going to win Father of the Year.”

“David, you’re an amazing father. All of this stuff could’ve easily happened to me. Would you really be upset with me if it did?”

“Of course not.”

“Then don’t beat yourself up. In 10 years, this will be something you and Emma laugh at.”

“I sure hope you’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

“I just wish you were here.”

“I wish I was too, but I will be soon. In the meantime, you and Emma will be just fine.”

“You were doubting that before you left.”

“That was me being an overprotective mother, but I do trust you. You can handle this.”

 

They talked for a little more, just about Mary’s grandmother before telling each other that they loved the other and hanging up the phone. David finished up the mac and cheese and set it out on the table.

 

“Emma,” he called out, upstairs. “Dinner’s ready!”

 

The door creaked open and he heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs, before she entered the kitchen. David saw her face, it was tear stained and she was still very pale, looking both anxious and tired. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling guilt.

 

“Maybe we should talk before you eat.”

“Did Mom tell you?”

“Yeah, she did. But why didn’t I hear it from you?”

Emma bit her lip. “I thought you’d flip out or think it was my fault.”

“Emma, look at me.” She stayed staring at the floor. “Please, baby?” She sighed and looked up at him. “You should never feel wrong for wanting to be comfortable and given all you’ve been through, it’s normal to not want to be around that.”

“Alright. Can we eat now?”

“No, baby, I really need to tell you this. No matter what I say about you and boys, my main goal is that you feel safe. You shouldn’t ever feel differently and if you do, you do what you need to in order to get there. I promise, Mama and I will always support you and be there for you. And I will never blame you for feeling the way that you did.”

“But I lied to you…”

“Yeah, you did. But that doesn’t matter, that’s not how you’re punished. I don’t ever want you to feel like you can’t come to me and if I did something to put that in you, then I am so, so sorry,” he told her, his voice filled with love and sorrow.

Emma bit her lip. “I just didn’t want you to flip out.”

David nodded, frowning a bit. “I know, I can overreact sometimes. I’m trying to work on it, but no matter what I’m always going to try to protect you. It’s my main goal to make sure you feel safe and loved. There isn’t anything you could tell me that would make me feel differently.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’m just not used to all of it, still.”

David lightly smiled when she saw her lips turning up. “Well, then we’ll both work on it.” She nodded. “Now come here, because your face is breaking my heart.” She threw her arms around him so quickly, that he nearly fell over. He chuckled and hugged her tighter, cradling her head with his hand as he did. “Oh Princess.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know, I’m sorry too.”

 

 

She stayed clinging to him for a bit, not wanting to let go. All she had wanted since it all went down, was a hug and this was definitely helping. To know she was loved, to feel safe and protected in her father’s arms. David didn’t mind, he knew how she was feeling and didn’t want to let go either, he wanted his daughter to trust him and to feel secure and loved. Eventually, he could her voice muffled into his shirt.

 

“How bad did you poison us with your cooking?”

David faked a gasp of hurt and gently pulled her face away to see her smirking. “Little girl, I can cook.”

“Yeah, breakfast. Mama says you nearly gave her food poisoning once.”

“One, that was an accident. Two, your mother and I are going to get a divorce if she keeps telling you stuff,” he teased. He then worried Emma wouldn’t find that funny, but she still stayed smirking.

“Like anyone else would put up with you,” she said, sitting down.

“I made mac and cheese. It is impossible to screw that up.” He took his seat beside her.

“I dunno. At my group home, there were quite a few culinary disasters.” Emma picked up a fork and took a long dramatic bite, which caused David to roll his eyes. “It’s good.”

“Good,” the blonde started eating his as well. “You never really talk about it…what it was like living in a group home.”

“It was sort of different than a regular placement. There were more kids, sometimes more than the person could handle. There were lots of chores, the kitchen was the biggest thing. Whoever had stayed out of trouble the most got to decide what we ate and who had to clean up and stuff.”

“And I’m guessing that was you?” David replied with a playful smile.

“Uh, no. I wouldn’t really get into a lot of trouble but there was always at least one person more behaved.”

“Were you supervised?”

“Depended on the home. The one before here, not really. We were supposed to have a curfew and stuff, but if we came home late, she didn’t really care.” Emma thought of the concert she had snuck out to the night before she was told she’d have to come to Maine. She hadn’t really wanted to go; the band wasn’t one she had heard of before. But she knew that maybe if she was caught, that the owner of the group home would want to send her back, which would mean maybe she could run away.

 

She wasn’t sure if she could ever tell her parents of her plan. That if they hadn’t agreed to foster her, she’d probably be halfway to Florida by then. Though in all reality, she knew that a 13-year-old probably couldn’t make it very far. At the time, though, it seemed ideal. Emma had already felt like she was on her own, she didn’t need the system holding her back.

 

“I can’t imagine what it was like,” David’s words broke her train of thought. “To live like that.”

She shrugged. “You get used to it.” She didn’t like talking about her foster and group homes around her parents. Not all of the memories were bad, they just weren’t what a parent would want for their child. She hated the look they got in their eyes, like they wished she had a different story to tell. But at the end of the day, if she hadn’t gone through what she had, she wouldn’t be their daughter, she wouldn’t be who she was. She didn’t want them to be sad for her, they already were about so many other things.

He gave her a sad smile. “You’re strong for dealing with all of it.”

“What choice did I have?” She replied with a small smile of her own.

 

Emma didn’t feel strong. Even though she had survived all of it, she felt weak. There were kids that were in the system from birth and never got adopted and never dealt with the issues she had. She wanted to be normal, like her friends. She wanted to have the same reactions to stuff as they did. Even Baelfire, who had been through a lot himself, seemed pretty well adjusted. Barring feeling uncomfortable with his scar showing, he found no issue being shirtless in front of a girl.

 

She knew it was okay for her to feel the way she did, but nothing about it screamed strength to her. She just wondered how her father saw what she couldn’t.

 

She decided to change the subject, because she really didn’t feel up to crying again. “So, what time do you have to work tomorrow?”

“Another afternoon shift, so we’ll probably leave here around 9:45.”

“Don’t you think that me being bored inside the station is going to be more a punishment for you?”

David laughed. “What do you mean?”

“The last time I was there and grounded, I nearly drove you crazy.”

“I’ll find something for you to do.”

“Like what?”

“You’ll see,” he replied with a playful smirk.

Emma groaned. “You really suck.”

“I’m the dad, it’s my job.”

 

They finished eating and cleared the table, they watched a little T.V. This time, it was David who fell asleep in the middle of it though. Emma decided to go upstairs half-way through, though she noticed her father was a little restless in his sleep. She shrugged it off as to the couch being uncomfortable and headed up to bed.

 

_David was standing in the middle of the house; everything was the same but something felt different. He just couldn’t place it. Suddenly, he heard a little voice behind him._

_“Daddy.”_

_He turned around and saw Emma standing there, but she wasn’t the Emma he knew. The only reason he knew this was his daughter was from the pictures he had shown her. She must have been five or six. A big smile was across her face, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders as she jumped up and down._

_“Emma,” he breathed._

_“We’re going to be late, Daddy!” She squealed, grabbing a hold of his hand._

_“Late for what?”_

_“Our tea party!”_

_He allowed the tiny girl to drag him off to the living room. The furniture was the same, but there were now toys everywhere. Dolls, Legos, toy trains along with a dress up area which was filled with princess dresses. In the corner was a small white table with a plastic pink tea set on top. The table had five chairs, three of which were occupied by stuffed animals. He could see Emma’s baby blanket being used as a tablecloth._

_“Sit down,” Emma instructed. He smiled and sat down and watched as she pretended to pour tea out for him. She then slid into the chair beside him, giggling. “I’m the princess, Daddy.”_

_“Yes, you are,” he whispered. He watched as she pretended to give tea to her plush toys, a smile forming on his face. She was so angelic, so adorable. On the walls, he could see pictures of him, Mary and this Emma. They all looked so happy. “This everything you were supposed to have.”_

_“I know,” she told him. “But it’s not real.”_

_His smile slowly faded. “What?”_

_“I wasn’t here, I wasn’t with you,” she explained.  Then, there was a bright flash._

_David was suddenly walking with Mary, hand in hand through the park. He could tell it was supposed to be them from years ago, but it wasn’t a flashback. The area didn’t look at all familiar. Suddenly he spotted a little girl wandering around. It was Emma, but for some reason his dream self couldn’t tell. Mary pulled away from him to approach the little girl._

_“Sweetie, are you lost?” She asked, her voice going into a loving tone._

_“I can’t find my daddy,” Emma whispered._

_“I’m sure I can help you. My name’s Mary and that’s David.” She pointed back to her husband, who grinned. “What’s your name?”_

_“Emma.”_

_It occurred to him what was going on at that moment, like he was finally allowed to remember just who that little girl was. He bent down and picked her up. She looked at him, confused, as did his wife._

_“David, what are you doing?” Mary asked gently._

_“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered to Emma. “I’ll protect you.”_

_Her big green eyes locked on his baby blues. “You know?”_

_“I do. And he can’t hurt you ever again. I promise.” David stroked her cheek and gave her a warm smile, which the little girl matched._

_“Sweetheart,” his wife said. “You’re scaring me, what’s wrong?”_

_“We have to protect her, Mary.”_

_“Protect her from what?”_

_Before David could respond, a tall man who reeked of beer walked over._

_“Emma, where the hell were you? I told you to wait by the bench,” the man demanded. It was Ed, David had never seen a picture of the man, but he could just tell._

_“I’m sorry Daddy,” the little girl said softly, her smile fading._

_“You will be.” He turned to the blonde man. “Thank you for finding my brat, I can take it from here.”_

_“No, I’m not letting her go with you,” David responded, firmly._

_“David,” Mary breathed, her eyes going wide._

_“He’s going to hurt her,” he insisted._

_“What are you telling these people, Emma?” Ed demanded, causing his daughter to bury his head in David’s shoulder._

_“She didn’t have to say a word.” David tried to tighten his grip on the little girl, but Ed tore her away, walking off. “Hey, wait!” He went to follow but his wife grabbed his arm._

_“What are you doing? She’s not ours,” she tried to tell him. Her voice was light, but she was clearly scared by her husband’s actions._

_“She’s supposed to be!” Tears sprang to his eyes. “I have to protect her!”_

_“We don’t even know her.”_

_The tears fell down his face as he watched Ed put his baby in a car and speed off. He wanted to chase after them, but it was like his feet were glued to the ground, so he stood there, feeling absolutely helpless._

David’s eyes shot open and he looked around. The living room was back to normal, an infomercial for zit cream played on the T.V. He slowly got up and headed up the stairs, opening the door to his daughter’s room. There she lay, asleep, her light snores filling the area. He knelt beside her and watched her sleep, the pain from his dreams filling him. He wanted to save his little girl from anything and yet, he hadn’t been able to. He hadn’t known she existed, but it still bothered him. Every day he tried to just be happy he had her now, but he wanted to turn back time and bring her home. Let that little girl know that she was loved, wanted. Give her the father that she deserved.

 

“Mmm…Daddy?” Emma’s tired voice broke him out of his thoughts and he realized she was awake.

“Shhh baby girl,” he cooed, pushing back curls from her face.

“Is it morning?”

“No Princess, you go back to sleep.”

“’Kay Daddy,” she mumbled, grabbing hold of her baby blanket, which melted his heart. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” He kissed her temple before standing up and slowly walking out. The rest of his sleep remained dreamless.

 

Come morning, he omitted his dream s when Mary called, knowing what she’d say. He made Emma cereal and just tried to focus on his daughter now and the time they had together.

 

“Alright my little convict,” he said as she came down the stairs with her backpack. “Ready for Bring Your Daughter To Work Day?”

“That’s not what this is,” she told him.

He smirked. “Kinda is.”

“Normally kids aren’t being punished.”

‘I wouldn’t know how this all works,” David admitted, handing her a jacket. “I grew up on a farm. Every day was Bring Your Kid To Work Day.”

Emma giggled, sliding on her coat and followed him to his truck.

 

That giggle didn’t last. David decided Emma needed to be kept busy, so he made her sweep up around the station.

 

“This is child labor,” she complained.

“Consider it part of your punishment,” he told her.

“You’re just making me do this so you won’t have to.”

“Completely false,” he said in a teasing tone.

“You, Graham and Leroy are pigs,” she mumbled to herself. “You, I get though. You were practically raised in a barn.”

David gasped in mock offense. “Take that back.”

“Mama says I’m not allowed to lie anymore,” she replied with a smirk.

“That’s it.” He stood up, grabbing her by the waist and throwing her over his shoulder.

“Daddy!” She squealed with delight.

“You’re under arrest for sass,” he told her, setting her in one of the holding cells and shutting the door.

A laugh escaped Emma’s lips. “Sassing isn’t illegal.”

“It is around here,” he said, pulling out his phone to take a picture before letting her out. “I guess I could release you on bail.”

“What do I owe you?”

“Hmmm…” He thought about it and then pointed to his cheek, which she kissed.

“If only the town knew you gave special treatment.”

“Well no one else is my baby girl.”

 

He returned to his paperwork and she finished sweeping. Soon a call came in about a possible robbery.

 

“Alright, stay here,” he instructed.

Emma frowned. “I can’t come?”

“Too dangerous Princess, I’ll be back in a bit. Seriously, do not leave the station,” he said, sternly. I shouldn’t be too long.” He quickly hugged her before leaving.

 

Emma sighed and plopped down on the couch. She hated being alone, which was a weird feeling. She was often by herself growing up, but after being with her parents, she found herself getting separation anxiety at times. She was feeling a little tired, so she let her eyes rest for a bit, soon drifting to sleep.

* * *

Emma awoke a little late, panting. She had just had a nightmare, not as bad as they normally were, but still pretty scary. She looked around to discover that David was still gone.

 

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Subconsciously, she knew it wasn’t his fault. He was on duty and had to go help. But she wanted him, she wanted her mom. She played with the ring Mary had given her for Christmas, which hung on a chain around her neck, and spotted David’s spare jacket, throwing it around herself. She curled up in his chair, trying to calm down, feeling incredibly stupid.

 

“You’re thirteen,” she mumbled. “You shouldn’t need your dad after a nightmare.”

 

Twenty minutes later, David returned. He saw his daughter curled up in his chair, lightly crying, and ran over, kneeling in front of her.

  
“Princess, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she muttered.

“Something. Talk to me, baby,” he whispered.

“It’s stupid. I’m not a baby.”

“You’re my baby,” he gave her a small smile. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

She sniffled. “I told you, it’s…”

“Emma, you’re crying. I know whatever it is can’t be stupid. Talk to me, please. I can’t help you feel better unless I know what’s wrong,” David cut her off, trying to be gentle yet firm.

Emma sniffled, biting her lip. “I had a bad dream, when I woke up you weren’t here.”

 

David’s face fell. He hadn’t been there for her, something he promised he always would do. It wasn’t his fault, he knew that deep down, but his heart was breaking.

 

“Oh Princess,” he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s stupid,” Emma repeated. “I shouldn’t need you to make me feel better. I used to handle them on my own. But now…”

“Now you’re not alone.” He gave her a full smile. “It’s okay to need me, Emma. I’m your dad.” She sniffled and held his jacket closer. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you, I am now, Princess.” He wasn’t sure whether he was referencing her childhood or the past hour, he supposed it could apply to both and she knew that too.  Her eyes stayed on the necklace, so he carefully tipped his chin up with his index finger. “I’m here, okay?” She nodded, wrapping her arms around him. He cradled the back of her head, holding her close. “Daddy’s here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there we go, I promised you guys Daddy Charming feels! Mary will return soon and the family will be back together! And soon Emma will be officially a Nolan, of course with more drama to come. Stay tuned and as always, please review. If you guys have anything you want to see, let me know.


	22. New Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few time jumps in this chapter, I just wanted to get to some stuff I had ideas for.

Mary pulled into the driveway of her home, feeling completely exhausted. Her grandmother had passed away the day prior and she left as soon as they had the funeral, which thankfully was thrown together quickly. She just wanted to get home to her family, especially Emma. David had said she had been especially clingy after a nightmare but was also scared that she was being a burden on him. She felt so guilty for being away when her daughter needed her the most. Archie had said that her condition would affect her moods on and off, this was an on time.

 

Her eyes glanced to her watch, well after midnight. She had missed her first New Year’s Eve with her daughter and that bothered her. It wasn’t a relatively large holiday, but one that was important. This year would continue to change Emma’s life, soon she could officially be a Nolan. Of course, they already thought of her as their daughter, but never again would her baby have to worry about being put back in the system.

 

Mary headed inside, dropping her suitcase by the door and went directly up to her bedroom. David and Emma were both asleep, both lightly snoring, her little girl’s head buried in her husband’s chest. Mary softly smiled and removed her jacket, laying on the opposite side of Emma. She stirred, but didn’t awake as her mother laid a kiss to her temple. David’s baby blues however, fluttered open as soon as his wife’s lips touched his own. He gave her a huge grin, despite being so tired.

 

“Welcome home,” he whispered.

“Thank you.” She stroked Emma’s curls. “What’s been going on?”

“I think she’s just been missing you and she’s scared of being sent back.”

Mary frowned. “But we would never do that. We’ve told her that, several times.”

“I know, but she thinks her being clingy is a problem. Of course, it isn’t, but she still has some trouble believing we wouldn’t send her back.”

The brunette let out a long sigh. “Well I guess we’ll just have to show her this is okay, that there’s nothing she could do to make us let go. I just thought we were past all this, her thinking we wouldn’t want her.”

“I know, my love. But I talked to Archie and it’s not that simple. Sadly, she spent 13 years pretty much on her own.”

“My poor baby,” Mary gently took Emma into her arms and in her sleep, the girl wrapped her arms around her torso. Mary softly smiled, as did David.

“Guess she knows her mommy’s home,” David murmured lovingly.

“I am. But now it’s time for both her mommy and daddy to get some sleep,” she reached over and kissed his lips.

 

Emma awoke the next morning, in someone’s arms, but she knew they weren’t her father’s. All she could see was the person’s shirt, it wasn’t a sleep top, more a blouse. A small grin crept across her lips as she realized who it was.

 

“Mommy?” She asked, hopefully, feeling like a little kid but not caring.

“Yes baby,” Mary’s soothing voice floated from above her and she looked up, seeing her mother’s face. Emma grinned wider and tightened her grip on her.

“I missed you!”

“I missed you too, sweets,” Mary said, kissing her head.

“Why didn’t you wake me up when you got home?”

“You needed your sleep.”  Mary smiled at her. “I swear you look a little older.”

Emma giggled a little. “Mama.”

“I promise I won’t leave you like that again,” the brunette’s voice was now serious, as was her face.

“It’s fine, I understood why.” She really didn’t want her mom feeling bad about having to go take care of stuff. “Dad didn’t kill me with his cooking, though we had some close calls.”

“I can hear you,” David said. Emma craned her neck and saw he was on the other side of her.

“Hi Daddy,” Emma said, innocently, though a small smirk was on her lips.

“Hello Princess, I think you’re asking to be put back in the cell.”

“Back in the cell?” Mary cocked an eyebrow as both her husband and daughter laughed. David reached over and grabbed his phone, pulling up the picture from the other day. “David!”

“It was just a joke; she was being sassy.”

“You don’t put our daughter in a holding cell! There have been drunks that have thrown up in there!” Mary held her daughter closer.

“Mama, I was fine,” Emma assured her. “It was for all of ten seconds.”

Mary rolled her eyes as David kissed her. “Don’t be cute.”

“See, I knew I’d get in trouble for something,” he muttered to Emma with a chuckle.

“Alright, I’m going to shower and then make you two something healthy for breakfast, as I’m assuming you’ve consumed way too much junk the past few days,” Mary announced. She tried to get up but Emma wouldn’t move. “Sweets, I gotta get up.” The teen sighed and let go. Mary laid a kiss to her forehead. “After my shower, why don’t you come down and you can help me?”

Emma lightly smiled. “Okay.”

 

David watched his wife head into the bath and stroked Emma’s hair, the girl still looked a little sad.

 

“I could make more hot chocolate for breakfast,” he said, trying to sound happy.

“I think I’m just gonna go get ready,” she mumbled, pushing back the covers and heading into the other room.

 

David let out a long sigh, he knew what was going on and hated it. He wished Emma could understand that they didn’t mind her needing them. They wanted her to feel safe with them, to come to them when she needed to. He sat up in bed, looking through pictures on his phone until Mary came back out in a towel.

 

“Where’s Emma?” She asked as she opened the closet.

“She went to go get ready, I think she’s feeling a bit embarrassed.”

Mary bit her lip. “I guess I need to have a chat with her.”

“I tried, it didn’t help.”

“I have to try.” She got dressed and left her husband to shower before heading into Emma’s room. She was now showered and changed herself, sitting on her bed, her hair still dripping wet. “Em, you’re going to catch a cold if you leave your hair like that.”

“That’s just an old wives’ tale,” Emma pointed out. “I learned that in Science.”

Mary rolled her eyes, going into the girl’s bathroom to grab a towel and heading back out, sitting beside her as she slowly dried her hair. “I thought you were going to wait for me.”

Emma shrugged. “Wanted to shower and change.”

“Okay,” she continued to dry the girl’s hair, letting them sit in silence for a minute.

“I’m sorry,” the blonde finally whispered.

“What do you have to be sorry for?”

“Because you didn’t ask for this, I shouldn’t be upset because I have to be away from you. I’m thirteen, not three.”

Mary smiled a bit. “Sweets, do you really think there’s anything you could do that would make me and your father give you up?”

Emma gnawed on her lip. “I dunno.”

“Well the answer is no, nothing could. You’re our daughter and we love you. You’ve been through so much and now you have people who love you and care. It’s okay to want them,” she assured her.

“But you could get a normal…”

“We want you, okay?” Mary whispered as she set the towel down. “You’re perfect, just the way you are. And if you need us more than usual, that’s fine too. You’ve had a hell of a time.” She put two fingers under the girl’s chin to make her look up. “Stop beating yourself up, it’s all perfectly fine.”

“I just don’t want to burden you guys. I’m sure you didn’t think having a teenager would be like this,” Emma said softly.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew when I had a child I hoped they would like lots and lots of hugs,” Mary gave her a full smile and held Emma in her arms. The teen rested her head on her mother’s shoulder, feeling safe again. “I’m always going to be here for you, I promise. Don’t ever feel like you’re a burden on me or your father, okay?”

“Okay,” Emma mumbled, feeling a little better.

Mary sat there for a moment, rubbing soothing circles on her back and letting Emma hug her as tight as she wanted to. Finally, she said, “Why don’t we go make some breakfast, before your father decides to make something with chocolate?”

Emma giggled. “Chocolate isn’t a bad thing.”

“In moderation it’s not. I don’t even worry about you working it off, it’s just not good for your development,” Mary ranted.

“I’m going to block parenting websites from your computer,” Emma told her as she untangled herself from her and got up.

Mary narrowed her eyes. “I’ll just have Lily put them back. You know she likes to watch you squirm.”

 

Emma poked out her tongue and followed Mary downstairs, where luckily David was not. The two made egg whites and turkey bacon and it was almost done by the time he came downstairs.

 

“And we know my wife’s back now,” he said.

“Sorry, but chocolate chip pancakes and hot chocolate are not breakfast staples,” she told him, pecking his lips.

David rolled his eyes and looked over at Emma, who appeared to be doing better. “It’s a food group. What do you think, Em?”

“I think Daddy’s right,” she said.

Mary rolled her eyes. “David, the last I remembered I had one child, not two.”

“I’m just being the fun parent,” he shot back with a smirk as he kissed her.

“Alright, gross, I may have missed you, but I didn’t miss that,” Emma complained. Mary and David exchanged a look before kissing again, which just made their daughter fake a gag.

 

After breakfast, Emma went to watch T.V while her parents lingered behind in the kitchen, doing the dishes.

 

“So, while I was away, I got an interesting phone call,” Mary said.

“Oh?” David raised an eyebrow as he wiped a cup.

“It seems that the vice principal at the high school is retiring and they’re looking for a replacement.”

“And they thought of you?”

“Well they know I have a child psychology degree and it’s such a small town, there’s not a lot of options,” Mary said, shrugging a bit. “They scheduled me for an interview.”

David beamed. “Baby, this is so amazing.” He kissed her for a moment. “This is what you wanted, right? To work more with older kids and sort of have a say of what’s going on.”

“Yeah, plus it’s more money. Not that we’re struggling or anything, it’ll just be nice.”

David studied his wife’s face. She should’ve looked happy, but instead there was stress. “What’s wrong? I thought this would make you happy.”

“I’m just worried about how Emma will handled it.”

“You already teach at her school.”

“On the other side and I’m not her teacher. I’m not sure how I’d feel about my parent being my vice principal, especially in high school.”

The blonde rubbed the back of his neck. “She’ll adjust, she will. I mean, she’s clinging to you right now.”

“Yeah, now. But trust me, the older she gets, the more awkward it might be.”

“You know you won’t purposefully embarrass her and you both will learn as you go. Look, if you really don’t want to do this, I’m fine with that. But don’t let Emma possibly not liking it hold you back. You don’t even know how she’ll react.”

 

Mary nodded and he wrapped her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her short, dark hair.

 

“By the way, congratulations,” he whispered in her ear.

“I haven’t even gotten the job yet,” Mary pointed out.

“But you will. And then we’ll be able to take the town by storm. Me being the sheriff and you the vice principal,” he said seductively.

“Oh yes, we’ll be like the king and queen of Storybrooke,” she teased.

“I have a few things I’d like to go over with my queen.” His lips brushed against her neck.

“David,” she whispered, giddily. “Our daughter is right down the hall.”

“She’s watching T.V.”

“She’ll still hear us,” she pecked his lips and pulled away. “We can have our “discussion” later tonight, once she’s gone to bed.”

“Tease,” David jokingly grumbled.

“Hey now, I believe that line is how we met,” Mary pointed out with a smirk.

“Not from my lips,” he reminded her.

* * *

A few weeks passed and school was back in session. Emma was doing a little better about not needing her parents, she sort of had no choice and was even beginning to feel a bit more secure in the fact that they didn’t mind her being clingy. Mary worried about her constantly through the day and it reassured her that she wasn’t ready for her daughter to go to high school without her there. She knew that couldn’t be her sole reason for applying for the job, but that way she would be there for Emma if she needed. She wasn’t sure exactly what they’d do about college, but that was a long time off.

 

The interview had gone well and since the position wouldn’t be available until the fall, there would be some time before the woman heard back. But she knew she had to talk to her daughter about it before she did.

 

“Hey Mama,” Emma’s words broke Mary’s thoughts as she entered her classroom at the end of the day. All of her students were already gone, so it was just her.

“Hey sweets, how was your day?”

“Alright. I’m sorry I’m late, Lily and I were using the indoor track to practice, cross country tryouts will be coming up soon.”

Mary smiled. “It’s alright. Do you want to go get some ice cream?”

Emma cocked an eyebrow. “Am I dying?”

“What? Of course not.”

“Are _you_ dying?”

“Emma! No!” Concern filled Mary’s face. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because you’d never agree to let me have ice cream so close to dinner.”

The panic washed away and the mother rolled her eyes. “Today can be an exception. Unless you don’t want to go.”

Emma giggled. “Okay.”

 

Mary gathered up her things and they went to the ice cream parlor, getting their favorites. It was surprisingly warmer than usual so they decided to walk and eat.

 

“So…” Mary started to say.

“I knew it, there had to be something,” Emma cut her off.

Mary gave her a Look. “Don’t interrupt, please. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it.”

The blonde frowned. “Are you leaving again?”

“No, baby.” Mary put her free hand on Emma’s cheek and gave her a small smile. “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”

“Then what is it?”

“Well, the vice principal at the high school is retiring at the end of this year and they need a replacement. So they had me interview for it.”

“Did you get it?”

“I don’t know yet, I probably won’t for a little bit. I just wanted to tell you.”

Emma scrunched up her nose, thinking about it. Her mom was already at her current school, though being a vice principal would be different. “You’re not going to spy on me are you?”

“No, I promise I will do my best to treat you like any other student,” Mary assured her.

“So no coming to lunch and make sure I’m eating my vegetables?” Emma asked, in a teasing voice so her mom would know she was really okay with this.

Mary chuckled. “Only if you don’t use the fact that your mom is the VP to get away with anything.”

“But then what’s the fun in that?” Emma groaned.

Mary wrapped an arm around her. “So you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. You’ll be a good VP, just use your mom voice, it’ll scare them into doing whatever.”

“Mom voice?”

“You have a mom voice, Dad has a dad one,” Emma explained. “You use it whenever you’re lecturing me.”

Mary laughed a bit. “I guess we do.”

* * *

More time passed, Valentine’s Day came and went, with David and Mary going out. Emma had a sleepover with Lily and Ruby, having the most fun she had in a while. But another date was looming overhead, one Emma was dreading her parents bringing up. She thought maybe they wouldn’t, maybe they’d leave it alone.

 

 

She really should’ve known them better than that.

 

The “B word”, as Emma had labeled it in her head, came up after school one brisk March day. She and her mother had returned from school and David was working the night shift, so he was home.

 

“So,” Mary said as they sat down for hot chocolate and cookies, the closest thing they’d have to a family meal that day. “Did you really think we wouldn’t find out?”

Emma’s head snapped up as she scanned her brain. She hadn’t done anything lately to be in trouble. “Um...whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”

David and Mary laughed in unison and he squeezed her hand. “You’re not in trouble, Princess.”

“Then what?”

“Your birthday,” he replied, smiling. “It’s coming up.”

“Oh,” Emma’s face dropped a bit. “You two know about that?”

“You’re our daughter, of course we know your birthday,” Mary said, a little confused. “It’s the day after your adoption will be final.”

“Yeah, we’re already celebrating that, so you don’t really need to worry about it.” The blonde took a sip of her drink.

 

Mary and David exchanged a look. They knew growing up their daughter didn’t have birthday parties or anything, but they weren’t expecting this response, especially after Christmas.

 

“It’s your birthday, we have to do something,” David insisted. “You could have Lily, Ruby and Bae over for a party or we could go to Granny’s, I’m sure everyone would come.”

“Seriously, my birthday isn’t a big deal. It never has been.”

“Well yeah, but you’re here now. You never had a Christmas before you came here either,” he pointed out.

“That’s different.”

“Emma,” Mary said, softly. “We want to do something for you. Why don’t you want to celebrate it?”

“It’s just not worth celebrating,” Emma mumbled, suddenly wishing she were anywhere but there.

“Of course it is! It’s the day the best girl came into the world,” Mary told her, stroking her cheek, but Emma pulled away.

“Seriously guys, I appreciate it but I’m only turning 14. I don’t need to do anything.”

“Well we’re at least getting you gifts,” her mother started to say.

“No, please.” Emma stood up, pushing in her chair. “I have homework to do. Come say goodbye before you leave, Daddy.”

 

David sat there in shock as Emma kissed his cheek and walked out of the room. Mary let out a long sigh before getting up and collecting the mugs.

 

“We have to do something, it’s her first birthday with us,” he said.

“She doesn’t want to do anything,” Mary replied.

“She didn’t want Christmas presents either but we didn’t listen.”

“I think this is a little different. The two of us celebrate Christmas, it’s a communal holiday. This is a whole day dedicated to Emma.”

“She deserves that.”

“I know that, you know that. But let’s face it, Emma’s not entirely comfortable with things being all about her. That’s the one trait of only children that she doesn’t have.”

David sighed, rubbing his stubble. “I just think we need to do something. She needs to see that she deserves a birthday celebration of some kind. I want to be able to celebrate one of my girls’ birthdays.”

 

Mary bit her lip, feeling a little guilty. She always made a big deal of his birthday, cake, presents, party at Granny’s. She made sure her husband got the royal treatment. But when it came to her, she didn’t let him do anything. Her mother had died on her birthday when she was a little girl and it just was a very hard day. The first one that occurred during their relationship, he thought she was just being a girl and would be mad if he didn’t get her presents and treat her like a princess. He learned exactly why it was a hard day for her when she broke down in tears after trying to keep it together, so he wouldn’t know the truth. He agreed after that they would never do anything again, though she could tell he wanted to.

 

David saw his wife’s face and stood up. “I’m sorry, I respect your choice. I do wish you’d let me do what you do for me, but I’m not mad about it.”

“I know, I just…I get where Emma’s coming from. Maybe this is really just like Christmas where she just needed to see how good it was.”

“Or it could end up being like you. I don’t want to make things harder on her,” he muttered.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go overkill, but we could do something small. I know she loves playing video games at Lily’s. We could get her one of those systems and she could invite her friends over to play, it doesn’t even have to be a party, unless she wants to call it one,” Mary suggested.

“Think she’ll go for it?”

“I don’t know. But we have to at least try, show her that things are really different here.”

“She said she doesn’t want gifts, though.”

Mary pondered that for a minute. “Then it’ll be an adoption present, she never said we couldn’t get her one of those. And then we can get her games and if she ends up liking her birthday, we call those her birthday presents.”

David grinned. “You’re the brains of us, aren’t you?”

“You know I am.” She pecked his lips. “I’ll try to secretly talk to Lily to find out just what system she has and what games Emma likes.”

“Make sure the girl doesn’t blab, she has a big mouth.”

“I’ll get Ruby to keep her quiet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there we go! Lots happened in this chapter! Mary’s back and possibly getting a new job and Emma’s birthday is coming up. Will she celebrate it for the first time with her family? As always, reviews are appreciated!


	23. Congratulations, It's A Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Wanted to start off the chapter by giving a tiny update on where this story is going. I do have plans for a sequel to it and it won’t be very far in the future either. This particular one will most likely end around the time Emma starts her freshman year of high school and the sequel will pick up at the end of it. But we still have a bit of ways to go for that. The rest of this installment will probably include a few time jumps, so just be prepared for that. If you guys ever have anything you want to see in this, let me know and I will try to include it. As proof, in the past someone requested to see Emma rebelled more and thus the ice skating chapter came about. So, I do listen to all the suggestions I get!
> 
> I also would like to give a shout out to loboselina! She’s always reviewing and has a great story out called: Breathless. Lots of Charming Family, angst and drama, I love it so much. And since she was kind enough to give this story a shout out, I wanted to return the favor. She also recently put out the most adorable Charming Family Halloween one shot series I’ve ever read! Check her out, you won’t be disappointed!
> 
> Now onto the story! Last time, Mary and David were trying to figure a way to get Emma to celebrate her birthday. Will it work?

Emma sat up in her room, finishing her homework later that night. She really hadn’t done it after she left the table that afternoon, she just wanted to get away from the constant questioning about that “B word”. David hadn’t mentioned it when he came up to say goodbye, so she figured she was in the clear…for now. She really hoped they weren’t going to plan some big surprise party to show her what she was missing, the thought of that made her super uncomfortable.

 

There was a soft knock at her door and she invited her mother in, knowing she was the only other one home.

 

“How’s the homework going, sweets?” Mary asked, sitting down on her daughter’s bed.

“Pretty good, just about…” Emma scribbled down the last answer. “Done.” She spun around her chair.

“Great, so I wanted to talk to you about something.”

 

_You should’ve known better._

“Um, alright.”

“Is there a particular reason you’re so against celebrating your birthday?”

“Well I never have before…”

“I know that, but you didn’t do a lot of things before you came here and you weren’t so adamant about it.”

Emma bit her lip, she wanted to tell her mom, but at the same time, she saw the look in her eyes whenever they talked about her past. She didn’t want to hurt her or worry her. So, she simply shrugged. “I just…don’t want to.”

 

Mary was quiet for a moment, slowly nodding.

 

“I’m going to share something with you, not to try to make you feel bad, but to tell you I can relate. In a way,” she gave her a small smile. “My birthday was last week.”

Emma’s eyes widened as guilt filled her. Her mother had done so much for her; she was always there. She had been meaning to ask David when their birthdays were, she needed to know. Of course, a daughter should know when her parents’ birthdays were. She had missed her own mother’s birthday! “Mom, I am so sorry…”

“No, sweets,” Mary grabbed her hand. “Don’t be sorry, I didn’t tell you because I knew you would’ve wanted to do something if you knew. Please, don’t feel guilty.”

Confusion replaced the guilt. “But why wouldn’t you want to celebrate?”

Mary sighed, she hated talking about it, but she supposed she had to if she expected Emma to do the same. “My mother died on my birthday.”

“Oh Mama…” Emma moved from her chair to the spot on the bed beside her.

“She had been sick and yet insisted my party go on. She died right before it could happen.” The tears were welling up in her eyes, but the mother willed herself not to cry in front of her daughter. “Anyway, after that, I turned to my father and said “I never want to have a birthday ever again”.”

“How old were you?” The blonde whispered.

“Six.”

Emma bit her lip, six years old. Just a year older than she when she decided her birthday wasn’t important. “That is so awful.”

“I’m not telling you to make you feel bad, I just wanted you to know that I get it.”

There was silence for a moment. “You really never celebrated your birthday after that?”

“My father tried to give me parties, but they usually ended with me crying in my room. My step-mother, once she came around, called me a spoiled brat and they stopped.”

“You weren’t being a brat though, that day just brought up too many bad memories,” Emma said, softly.

“I know. I always knew she was wrong. Anyway, after that, my dad gave up. Your father tried once,” Mary smiled painfully at the memory. “But he soon learned why. Every year he tries to do something small, thinking I won’t notice. Like making me breakfast or buying me flowers, things he does anyway but I know.”

The teen recalled her father coming home with roses the week prior and noticed it made her mom act off, but she couldn’t tell why. It was something the sheriff did on occasion. “Is it hard on you when he does?”

“I know it comes from a good place and after 11 years, I’ve just learned that there’s no fighting it.”

 

Emma nodded, once again letting the room fall silent. Mary didn’t push, she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to make her daughter feel sad or guilty. She also didn’t want her to feel as if they were going to force her into a celebration if she didn’t want it. She’d do what David did, if that’s what it took. Her daughter being comfortable was her number one priority.

 

“I actually didn’t know when mine was for a while,” Emma admitted quietly, after a little bit. “I knew birthdays were a thing, I’d see people celebrate them on T.V. But Ed and Helga never told me.”

The thought killed Mary, though what about her daughter’s past didn’t? If it were her, Emma’s birthday would’ve been a big deal. She imagined over the top parties, a bouncy castle, she would’ve had it all. “So when did you find out?”

“When I was in pre-school, whenever there was one, the person got to pick their favorite activity to do and they got to bring in cupcakes. The weekend before, my teacher told me to think of which one I wanted and that I should tell my mom to make cupcakes, it was supposed to be that Monday. So, I did.”

Mary held her breath, bracing herself for whatever the evil woman had done to her baby girl. She didn’t say anything, she just looked into Emma’s eyes, letting her know she could go on.

“I went home and told her…she started laughing and told me it was nothing to celebrate. And that she definitely wasn’t going to be making anything for it. I said there would still be a celebration. So…um…” The tears welled up in Emma’s eyes.

Mary gripped her hand. “What happened, baby?”

“So I wasn’t allowed to go to school that Monday. And they both went out to “work”,” she used air quotes around the word, since their jobs consisted of drug dealing and prostitution. “I spent the day all by myself.”

Tears trickled down Mary’s face, she couldn’t hold them back anymore. Her baby girl, her sweet baby girl, had been left alone at all of 5 years old. And if that wasn’t bad enough, on her birthday of all days. “Oh Emma…” Her voice came out in a cracked whisper.

“When they finally came home, I was told once again that my birthday was nothing to celebrate and that it was the day their lives were ruined, that it was all my fault, that I was lucky they didn’t just get rid of me.” The teen shook her head, batting tears away from her eyes. “Every year after that, it’s just what I thought about. I was in the system, so no one does anything for your birthday anyway. Eventually it was just easier to pretend that it didn’t exist again.”

 

Mary put an arm around her daughter, pulling her close. Emma buried her head in her mother’s shoulder. All of this was why she didn’t want her to know, but she also knew it had to. She could feel how tense she was and hated that, she hated that her past made her mother feel that way.

 

“Mama, I’m sorry,” Emma whispered.

“Emma, no! Why are you apologizing?!?” Mary practically shouted. Emma frowned and the woman sighed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled, you’re not in trouble. I’m so sorry baby.” Her lips brushed against Emma’s temple. “This just…you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But you get so upset whenever I talk about my past. I just shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Emma,” Mary looked down into her eyes. “I want to know everything about you, all of it. Even if it’s upsetting, I need to know. Never feel sorry for your past, you did _nothing_ wrong, do you hear me? They were wrong, not you.” She stroked her cheek. “They should be apologizing, not you.”

Emma slowly nodded. “Okay. I just don’t want you or Dad to get upset…”

“Sweetie, I love that you want to protect us from stuff like this but we need to know. You’re our daughter. Parents are supposed to know what their kids like and dislike and why it’s like that. Unfortunately, we weren’t there to learn it…” _And if we had, things would’ve been much different and your birth mother’s death would’ve been a result of homicide and not a drug overdose…but that’s besides the point._ “But we can now. So never feel like you can’t tell us something.”

“Okay, Mama.” Emma snuggled deeper into her, feeling slightly better.

 

The two sat there for a while, mother holding her daughter, once again thinking of how things should’ve been. Archie had tried to tell Mary not to do that, as it did little, outside causing more stress. But she just couldn’t help it, even if she told David to focus on the future.

 

“Emma…can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” Emma’s voice came muffled from Mary’s shirt, as the girl took in her scent, a mixture of her perfume and dinner smells. Despite cooking something different every night, it was the same general smell to the girl, one she loved. It was her mother’s scent. David had one too, a combo of axe body spray and coffee. To her, they were the smells of home.

“Would you be willing to try to redo your birthday? Nothing big, maybe just having your closest friends over for cake and grilled cheese.” Mary knew pizza was a birthday party staple, but the sandwiches were Emma’s favorites.

“I just…” Emma wanted to say yes, she wanted to agree to all of it, to make her mother happy, but wasn’t sure how she’d react. “I don’t know.”

“It’s okay if the answer’s no, I won’t be mad. I just want you to have everything you deserve, Emma. And you deserve at least one happy birthday memory.” Even Mary herself had them, they were fuzzy and vague, from before her mother’s death. She thought of David’s attempts when they first began dating as a good one, even if it did end with her in tears. All because it meant that she was loved.

“Something with you and Dad would be okay, I guess,” Emma mumbled, finally. She figured that would be a good compromise. She didn’t even want Lily, Bae and Ruby to know it was her birthday. Bae might be able to get it, but Lily and Ruby would insist on doing something. “I don’t want my friends to know.”

Mary partially smiled. “Okay, sweets. Whatever you want.” She kissed the top of her head. “What should we do?”

“Just watch a movie with grilled cheese…and ice cream for dinner,” a small smirk was playing on her lips, figuring her mom would say yes to anything.

The brunette rolled her eyes as she chuckled. “I suppose one day wouldn’t hurt.”

“No presents, though.”

“Emma…”

“Seriously.”

 

Mary thought about what she had told David, about the game console being an adoption day present. Maybe if the movie and ice cream for dinner went over well, they’d be able to pass off the games as a birthday presents. If not…then hopefully she’d buy that they were “just because” ones.

 

“Whatever you want, baby.”

* * *

2 weeks went by and Emma woke up one morning to Mary shaking her awake.

 

“Mmm…Mama,” she mumbled. Her eyes shifted to the clock. “It’s too early.”

“Oh, okay, maybe you’re right,” Mary said, getting up. “Guess you don’t want to be adopted. That’s fine.”

Emma’s eyes shot open fully and she sat up smiling, now fully awake. “It’s that day? Finally?”

Mary grinned. “Yes baby girl.”

David came walking in. “Still in bed? Come on Princess, it’s a big day!”

“I know, I know!”

 

A part of it was so surreal. For nearly 9 years, she had been in the system. After today, there would be no more fear that she’d have to go back. Of course, her parents had told her that wouldn’t happen, but this was permanent. It was forever. There would be a piece of paper that said that Mary Margaret and David were her parents. Did they need the piece of paper to make them a family? No, but it would guarantee they could stay together.

 

After quickly showering, she got dressed, actually dressing up a bit, it was a special occasion after all. She put on a pink dress, the one she had bought on her first shopping trip with Mary. She was so nervous back then, she couldn’t understand why someone would want to buy her something. Emma was finishing up her makeup when her mom walked in.

 

“Wow, you look beautiful, sweets,” Mary said, kissing her cheek.

“Thanks Mama, so do you.” Unintentionally, the two were almost matching with their dresses. “Would you braid my hair?”

Mary beamed brightly. “Of course.”

 

She lead her to the bed and sat down with the materials, slowly brushing out her curls.

 

“Remember the first time I did this?”

Emma nodded. “It was during that storm, when you told me that you loved me and wanted to adopt me.”

“I meant every word of it.”

“I know. I was so scared; I didn’t get why you would want me. I thought I was too old.”

“And what’d I tell you?”

“That you thought of me as your little girl, that Daddy did too.”

“Exactly and that will never, ever change.”

 

As Mary braided her daughter’s hair, she thought of the life she dreamed about when she was Emma’s age. She knew she wanted this moment, to braid her little girl’s hair, to have a little girl. She didn’t picture getting one this way, but she wouldn’t change it for the world.

 

David stood in the doorway, watching his girls, a big smile on his face as he thought back to about 7 months ago when he had the meeting with Helen…

 

_“Is your wife joining us, Mr. Nolan?” The social worker asked as they sat in her office._

_“No, she couldn’t get off work. But whatever you tell me, I’ll be sure to pass on.” He rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants. They had only gotten their license a few weeks ago, after months of classes and weren’t expecting a placement so quickly. “So, you really have a child for us?”_

_“Yes and it’s a unique situation. She is a 100% adoptable.”_

_“She?” David grinned. “A girl?”_

_“Yes. Her name is Emma.”_

_Emma. He was going to have a daughter named Emma! And it was for sure, she could be adopted. There was no chance of having to give her back._

_“How sure are you that she can be adopted?” David asked, not wanting to get his hopes up too high._

_“As I said, a 100%. Emma is a unique case. She was made a ward of the state at age 5 and her birth mother died a year later, her father had his rights stripped a couple of years after that,” Helen explained._

_David began doing the math in his head. The little girl had to be at least 8 years old. “How old is she?”_

_“13.”_

_David winced. Mary and he had known going into fostering that they probably wouldn’t get a baby. They were accepting of a young child. He knew Mary was picturing someone in between the ages of 3 and 5, while David thought at the oldest, 7 or 8._

_“I know you two said that you were hesitant about teens, but Emma is a good kid. She’s just had a tough break when it comes to homes, due to her past, many fear that she’s going to accuse them of the same.”_

_“What she’s been through?”_

_“Right, sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself. Mr. Nolan, Emma was molested by her father and his friends. Pictures were taken and there was physical abuse as well.”_

_A frown crossed his face. The girl had been removed at 5. Obviously, it shouldn’t happen at all, but how could this happen to someone so young? He was almost spoiled by his work as a sheriff in a small town, he had never run into this problem before. “That poor baby,” he whispered._

_“Like I said, she’s a really great kid. I do think she would benefit from you and your wife, given your status in the town. Here, this is her file.” Helen placed a large one in front of him. Clipped to the front was a picture of a young girl, she didn’t even look 13 to him. She wasn’t smiling, but was so beautiful, with blonde hair and green eyes. He felt guilty for even doubting this. She had been hurt by the man who was supposed to be her father. She needed to be shown that there was a good one out there._

_She could be his little girl._

_“Where is she?”_

_“Boston, just a couple of hours away. Listen, I know this is a lot to put on you and you need to discuss it with your wife. But if you decide you can, I can have her here as soon as tomorrow.”_

He still felt guilty for ever doubting that this would be the right thing. He couldn’t picture his life without his baby girl. And now he would never have to.

* * *

Emma’s hand had never been more straight as she signed the papers that the judge had asked her to sign. She wasn’t sure why she needed to, but she didn’t care, she’d sign whatever she had to in order to make it official. Once she was done, she passed the pen over to Mary, who instantly began to sign as well before David practically snatched the pen. As happy tears streamed down Emma’s cheeks, she giggled and felt so much joy. These papers not only made her a Nolan, it’d officially change her name to Emma Ruth.

 

Once they were all signed, the lawyer handed them off to the judge who smiled and looked them over.

 

“In the town of Storybrooke, state of Maine,” the judge began after he had processed the paper work. “I have signed these final judgements of adoption, making this finally, forever and always. David, Mary Margaret, congratulations, it’s a girl.”

 

Tears fell down both of their cheeks as they pulled her into their arms and hugged her so tight that she nearly couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t care. She clung to them just as tightly as they showered either side of her face with a million kisses.

 

“It’s official, Princess,” David whispered happily in her ear. “You’re ours, forever.”

“I know,” she kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you, for becoming our daughter.”

“It’s how it was meant to be.”

“Yes it was, sweets,” Mary cooed before laying another kiss to her forehead.

 

Someone in a court managed to take a picture of the three of them, though they were all a mess of tears and kisses. It didn’t matter though; they were finally a family and nothing was ever going to change that.

 

A few hours later, there was a celebration at Granny’s. Practically the entire town was there, including Lily who nearly knocked Emma over after she walked in the door.

 

“You’re adopted!” Her best friend squealed.

“Actually my name’s Emma, who would name a kid adopted?” Emma teased.

Lily rolled her eyes. “I’ll let that slide because today is all about you. How does it feel?”

“It’s weird, I wasn’t sure if I’d feel different, but I kinda do. Like this is really official.”

“No one deserves it more than you,” a misty-eyed Ruby said.

Emma raised an eyebrow. She had never seen Ruby cry, not even at The Notebook. “Are you crying, Rube?”

“No you are, shut up.” She batted away her tears and Emma giggled.

“You know if I hadn’t gotten placed with my parents, we never would’ve met, so we all should be celebrating. You two were my first ever best friends,” the blonde said.

“Alright, this is getting way too sappy,” Ruby said and she spotted someone from across the room. “Bae, hi!”

 

Emma turned around and saw Baelfire standing there with an older man who he vaguely resembled and Belle. She assumed the man was his father, despite knowing him for that long, they had yet to meet, though she had been introduced to Belle several times. A very shiny diamond was on the bookshop owner’s left finger, Mr. Gold had proposed a few weeks ago. Bae looked at his father, who nodded and the teen ran over, wrapping Emma in a big hug.

 

“Congratulations, Em.”

“Thanks, Bae.”

“So you’re officially a Nolan?”

“I won’t get my new birth certificate for a few weeks, but yes, I am.”

“This is just so amazing.”

 

Mary and David stood on the opposite side of the room with Mal, Marvin, Granny and Archie.

 

“We are so happy for you two,” Mal gushed as she gave Mary a big hug.

“Thank you, it’s all we ever wanted,” Mary replied with a smile.

“Emma probably wouldn’t be as far as she is without you,” Archie said.

“I don’t know, I think you played a big part, you still do,” she added.

“She still has ways to go, but with you two, she’ll be perfectly fine. I mean, look at her.” He gestured to the blonde who was smiling widely and talking a mile a minute with her friends. Tears welled up again as Lily threw her arms around Emma.

“Em has been great for the girls,” Granny commented. “Ruby and Lily don’t get into half the trouble they used to.”

“That’s the truth,” Martin agreed, lifting up his cup before sipping it.

“Well your girls were amazing to her,” David said with a smile. “She was so nervous about making friends, but Lily and Ruby really took her under their wing.” He used to not be so sure about Lily, but seeing how much she cared about Emma warmed his heart. When Mary had talked to her about the present, she got so excited. She kept saying how much Emma deserved it. The girl could be trouble, but she was truly his daughter’s best friend and how much more could he have asked for?

* * *

A little later, Emma followed Ruby and Lily into the back. The party was still in full swing, but Granny had asked them to grab some more napkins and such.

 

“Does your birth father know you’re getting adopted?” Ruby asked as she scanned to see where Granny had left them this time. The woman was getting up there in years and didn’t always put them in the same place.

“No, he has no rights to me. As far as he knows, I could be dead or something,” Emma replied as she helped her look.

“Like that’s not morbid or anything,” Lily piped up. She wasn’t helping, of course, but “supervising”.

“I don’t care, I never have to worry about him again. My dad’s standing out there.”

Ruby smiled. “You’re right.” She looked around some more. “Maybe she put them up top.”

“Can she reach up there?”

“No, but we have that really tall waitress.”

“Here, I’ll check.” Emma used a step stool to try to reach, but was still too short. She climbed up on top of the counter.

“Be careful,” Ruby said.

 

Emma waved her off and opened up the cabinets, grabbing the packs of napkins before throwing them down to her best friend. She turned to carefully get off the counter, but miscalculated how far it was and began to fall. She tried to catch herself on the step stool, but ended up falling on her side, with the heavy stool falling on top of her left ankle. She screamed out in pain, without thinking. Ruby rushed to her side while Lily went back into the diner to get the Nolans.

 

“Are you okay?” Ruby asked, panic filling her voice.

“I’m fine,” she tried to say, not wanting to ruin the day. Suddenly, Mary and David were running the back, Granny and Mal not far behind. The new parents knelt on either side of their daughter, David slowly moving the step stool from her foot.

“Princess, what hurts?” He asked.

Blush filled Emma’s cheeks. “Nothing, I’m fine.” She tried to stand up, but let out a whine of pain.

Mary quickly examined her. “No blood, does your head hurt?”

It did, kind of, but she wasn’t about to admit it. “No, I’m fine.”

“Emma,” Mary gave her a Look.

“Alright, alright, kind of. But seriously, I’m fine, we should get back to the party.”

“That ankle is starting to swell,” Granny pointed out, peering from behind her glasses. “You should get her to the hospital.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” David said as he picked Emma up, being careful with her ankle.

“Dad,” by now Emma’s face must have resembled a brick.

“No arguments. Come on.”

“Feel better, Emma,” Lily said. As David carried his daughter out, she pulled Mary aside to talk to her about setting up a surprise for Emma.

 

As luck would have it, Whale was actually at the party but was leaving just then to start his shift. He promised he’d move some stuff around to move Emma to the top of the wait list. Mary caught up with her husband at the truck as he laid Emma into the backseat. Only a few hours into officially being a family and there was already an injury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emma is officially a Nolan…and also officially a little clumsy! But, at least she has her parents by her side and Lily and Ruby are going to be making sure she’ll be comfortable at home. I just had to add in a little drama with the happiness, but it’s nothing too, too serious. As always reviews are appreciated and please make sure to check out loboselina!


	24. Spiderman

Once they reached the hospital, David lifted Emma into his arms once again.

 

“Dad,” she whined as he and her mother walked towards the entrance. “I can walk.”

“Your ankle is swollen, Emma,” David replied, in a no-nonsense tone. Mary stifled a chuckle, having a feeling that their stubborn daughter was not going to take well to any of this. They approached the desk, where a nurse sat. “My daughter fell off a high counter and a stool fell on her ankle. Her name is Emma Swan, Dr. Whale said he was going to try to get her to the top of the list.”

“Right, he got here not long before you did. We do have two more patients with higher priority, but if you sit down and fill out this paperwork,” the nurse pushed forward a clipboard which Mary took. “We should be right with you.”

“Thanks.” David carried his daughter to the chairs and sat down, settling her onto his lap so her ankle could be propped up on the one beside him. “How bad does it hurt?”

“It’s fine,” Emma replied.

“Emma.”

“What? I know when I’m in pain.”

“I have no doubt that you do, but I also know when you’re lying.”

 

The teenager rolled her eyes as her head pounded. She didn’t think it was a concussion, she had one once before and it felt completely different. Avoiding her father’s questioning, she began to play with the fringe on her dress.

 

“Sweets,” Mary’s voice caused her to crane her neck. “Your father asked you a question.”

“I answered it.”

“Emma Ruth.”

 

_It’s only officially been my name for 3 hours and it’s already being used._

“Alright, it hurts,” she finally admitted, so it would stop.

“On a scale from one to ten?” Mary asked as she scribbled down some information.

“Two,” Emma lied, which just got her looks from both her parents.

“You know we’re going to find out how bad it is soon,” David pointed out. “Whale’s probably going to need to perform X-RAYs.”

“I really am fine; we could’ve just stayed at the party.”

“Emma, you fell off a high countertop. What were you even doing up there in the first place?” His eyebrows arched as he looked at her with a mixture of confusion and fatherly worry.

“Granny told us to get the napkins and Ruby couldn’t reach. It was no big deal.”

“You could’ve just came and gotten me, I’m taller than you.”

“I had it handled. I just miscalculated where to step.”

“You could’ve cracked your head open or broken your neck,” Mary told her, her voice have now taken on that motherly tone. “You’re not allowed to do that again.”

“Mama…”

“You’re lucky you’re not bleeding; this whole thing could’ve been way worse.”

“You’re acting like I jumped off the roof.”

“Don’t do that either,” David threw in.

Emma rolled her eyes. “No, really?”

 

Of course, she would never admit this was nice. After falling out of that tree house when she was a kid, she had been taken to the hospital by her foster father. He didn’t say two words to her the entire time, so she just sat there sniffling in pain. Her parents cared, she knew they did. But she was also a teenager who naively thought she was invincible. Plus, the pain was making her a little crabby.

 

Mary finished up the paperwork and settled back down beside her husband. Emma let out a sigh, as she looked around. It was their first full day as an official family and they had to spend it in the E.R because she got hurt.

 

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“What was that, Princess?” David asked.

“We shouldn’t have to be here, I just got adopted and I ruined today.”

“Hey,” he lifted her chin with his fingers. “ _Nothing_ could ruin today, you’re ours forever. What could mess that up?”

“Having to spend it in an E.R?”

He chuckled and held her closer. “Today’s not ruined. Plus, it’s only…” he trailed off to find the time.

“3:30,” Mary piped up. “This won’t take long and we’ll still have the rest of the day…while you rest.”

“We don’t even know if anything’s wrong,” Emma pointed out. “I don’t think you should be putting me on bedrest just yet.”

“Mothers know all, best you get used to that now,” Mary replied with a smirk.

 

Before she could respond, a nurse came out to take Emma’s vitals. David carried her in, despite Emma’s protests. Though to her delight, he set her to sit alone on the cot. She allowed the nurse to take her temperature and check her blood pressure, hoping that would be all, but then the questions started.

 

“So Emma, how bad does it hurt according to this chart?” She pointed to a laminated piece of paper on the wall which had different faces ranging from happy to downright miserable. She fell in at about an 8, but wasn’t about to admit that.

“4,” she lied.

David’s eyes practically burned a hole into her head. “Emma.”

Not up for an argument, she let out a frustrated sigh. “8.”

“Alright,” the nurse scribbled it down. “Dr. Whale should be in, in a moment, just sit tight.”

 

She left the family alone, so Emma leaned back, massaging her temples. Mary frowned, she hated seeing her little girl in so much pain. She knew it’d be awhile before they’d give her anything for the pain so she walked over, slowly removing Emma’s fingers before doing the same thing, just slightly gentler. The girl didn’t protest, she just shut her eyes, feeling comfortable.

 

“Don’t fall asleep, sweets,” Mary whispered. “I don’t think it’s a concussion but we need to make sure.”

“Mmm…”

“Come on, you can stay awake. Just think of how you can make Daddy your personal servant until you get better.”

“Hey!” David protested, jokingly. “What are you telling our daughter?”

“Like you won’t get her whatever she wants,” his wife replied.

 

She was absolutely right and he knew this, but he also knew Emma would try to use that to her advantage. She was not going to like having to rest, especially with track tryouts coming up. Even if Whale gave her a go for it, he was going to have to talk to Mary about whether or not it’d be ideal. He’d have to resist her puppy dog eyes and cute voice as much as he could to make sure she stayed put until she was ready.

 

Whale walked in a few moments later.

  
“Hello there, Emma. Long time no see,” he joked with a playful smirk. The blonde rolled her eyes. “Alright, should’ve known you wouldn’t appreciate that one. I already know what happened, so let’s take you to get those X-RAYs.” He gestured to a wheel chair. “Hop down and sit.”

 

Emma slowly got down and limped to the wheel chair, stubbornly. David watched carefully, ready to swoop in and grab her if needed. Mary watched him watching her with a grin, the way he fussed over her was pretty adorable.

 

Their daughter managed to make it to the chair and sit down while Whale grabbed hold of the back, turning to the Nolans.

 

“I’ll have her back shortly,” he told them.

Mary kissed her daughter’s cheek. “We’ll be waiting, sweets.”

“Okay,” she mumbled. She hated X-RAYs but knew it would be impossible for either of them to come.

 

The parents watched their daughter gets pushed out. Mary turned to her husband, smirking a tad.

 

“God, she is just like you,” she said.

“Me? Uh, no.”

“Yes. Remember when you sprained your wrist after just a couple of months on the job? I had to practically drag you here,” Mary giggled a little at the memory. “And you lied about how much pain you were in.”

“It did not hurt that bad,” David protested.

“Uh huh, sure,” Mary smiled.

He rolled his baby blues and then rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ve been officially a family for a few hours and she got hurt.”

“There’s nothing we could’ve done,” she assured him, rubbing his arm. “She’s just a little daredevil.”

“Why is she lying about how much pain she’s in?”

“Because she doesn’t want to be here. I can’t blame her, she spent some time in here when she was in the system. She had to be alone for most of it.”

“Well she’s not now. And hopefully she won’t have to stay overnight.”

“She won’t,” Mary walked closer to him, cupping his face. “You were so sweet with her.”

David smiled. “I think I was embarrassing her.”

“That’s what dads do best.” She kissed him and he let it linger for a moment before pulling off.  “Plus, she secretly loves it. She rolls her eyes and then smiles.”

“True,” he rested his forehead against hers. “Can you believe she’s finally ours? I mean she always has been, but it’s official now.”

“I know what you mean, every time Helen would call to check in, I was worried she was going to say she was going to be taken away from us,” Mary frowned for a minute but then smiled. “But now this is permanent. No one can take her from us.”

“And no one ever will.”

 

A little later, a nurse came back in pushing Emma’s wheelchair. David lifted her up and set her down on the cot, ignoring the dirty look she shot him as he passed her shoes to Mary.

 

“You should be resting,” he told her.

“Why do I have a feeling that’s all I’m going to be hearing lately?” She mumbled.

David laughed. “Probably because you will, Princess.”

“You already used your coupon to call me that in public,” Emma pointed out.

“I can call you that whenever I want,” he teased. “It’s my fatherly right.”

 

She poked out her tongue and Mary resumed rubbing temples, as she had before.

 

“Mama,” she whispered, only half-way whining.

“It helps, doesn’t it?”  


She didn’t respond and just allowed her to do it until Whale walked in.

 

“Well the good news is, there is no concussion. The headache is probably just a reaction and will go away on its own,” he explained.

“That is good,” David said, shooting his daughter a smile.

“And her ankle?” Mary asked.

“It looks like a bad fracture. It doesn’t need surgery now, but she will need it down the line. Right now, I’m going to prescribe some pain killers and put an Air Cast Ankle Walker on the ankle, along with crutches,” he explained.

Emma frowned. The idea of surgery did not bring her any comfort. Mary, sensing her daughter’s tension, started to rub circles on her back. She started to think of positives. He hadn’t mentioned a thing about bedrest yet…

“I’m also going to say that you shouldn’t be on your feet unless necessary. The cast can come off to shower and when you sleep, that’s it. You should try to keep it propped up when at home and given how bad the fracture is, I don’t think that cross country will be happening for you this season,” Whale continued, bringing up what the girl had mentioned to him in the hall.

Emma pouted. “But tryouts aren’t for another couple of weeks…”

“Even if your cast is off, you don’t want to aggravate it even more,” the doctor replied.

“She won’t be trying out, right, Em?” David asked, giving his daughter a Look.

 

She rolled her eyes and averted them to the paper on the cot. She’d see how she felt, she wasn’t about to give up something that she wanted.

 

“Anyway, let’s get that cast on you,” Whale said. He went to the cabinets and pulled out the air cast, setting up Emma’s ankle and showing her how to put it on. It was bulky and ugly, but she knew better than to protest it. Mary put her right shoe on while the doctor got her some crutches. Whale showed her how to walk on them and she did her best to mask her pain. David could tell by her cringing that she was uncomfortable, so once Whale left the room to go phone the script into the pharmacy, he scooped her up into his arms.

“Daddy,” she whined. “I have crutches.

“You need to relax, you heard the doctor. Let’s get you home.”

 

She sighed, but wrapped her arms around his neck. He chuckled and kissed her forehead, carrying her out. Mary followed with the crutches, putting them in the bed of the truck with the rest of their stuff. David laid his daughter down in the backseat, putting on her seatbelt. The drive home was pretty quiet, barring the music on the radio. Once they arrived home, Emma just let her father carry her inside and into the living room.

 

“David, don’t you think she should be in her bedroom?” Mary asked, following.

“Mama, please. I don’t want to be stuck in bed all day. I promise I’ll stay on the couch,” Emma pleaded, giving her puppy dog eyes.

Mary sighed, shaking her head. “Those eyes don’t work on me, but I’m in a nice mood.”

Emma smiled as her father lowered her onto the couch, propping up her foot on the pillow. Oliver ran over and jumped onto her stomach. She giggled and scratched him behind the ears as her eyes scanned the room. That’s when she noticed a gaming system set up in front of the T.V. Her eyes lit up and she looked at her parents. “What is that?”

“An adoption present,” Mary replied with a smile.

“You guys didn’t have to…” Emma trailed off, realizing it was probably more meant to be a birthday present, they were just using the adoption as an excuse. She sighed. “Mama.”

“What?” Mary pretended to look innocent. “It’s not a birthday present. You didn’t say anything about adoption presents.”

Emma raised an eyebrow and looked at her father, who was doing his best not to laugh at his wife’s lame attempt to explain it all away. She knew she could make a thing about it, but saw how happy this made them. Plus, she didn’t want to seem ungrateful, she really did love playing video games. “Well, thank you.”

“You’re welcome baby,” Mary kissed her cheek. “I’m going to go pick up your prescription.”

“I don’t need any pain killers, I’m fine.”

Mary didn’t entertain the thought. She kissed her husband and grabbed her purse. “I’ll be back soon, my loves.” And with that, she was gone.

“Did she not hear me?”

“She did, but she’s not going to listen, and neither am I.” David settled down beside her and she put her head on his lap. “Now, you can either lay here and pout over what Whale told you or you could teach your old man how to play video games.”

“Did you just admit you’re old?” Emma asked with a giggle.

“Don’t push it, Princess,” he told her. He got up and pulled out the games that came with the system, noting another one with a pink ribbon on it. There was also a heart post-it note that read **Congrats on being adopted! Xoxo, Lily and Ruby**. He chuckled and held it up. “Looks like the girls got you something.”

“Grand Theft Auto III? Awesome!” Emma forgot all about hating presents in that moment.

“This sounds super inappropriate,” David commented as he examined the case. “As sheriff, I’m not sure that I can condone this.”

“Daddy, it’s not that bad and it’s just a game.”

He sighed but saw how excited she was, the next few weeks were going to be tough enough on her, he figured he could give her something. He slipped in the game and sat beside her, getting them each a controller.

 

Emma taught him how to play the game and while it was violent and went against everything he said in his oath, he did enjoy it. He didn’t grow up with video games, there was an arcade in town but he never went there. He just kept reminding himself, it was just a game. And to see his daughter so happy, made him happy.

 

“What is this?”

 

The two had been playing so long, they hadn’t realized how much time had passed. They saw Mary standing there holding bags from the market, along with one from the pharmacy.  Her eyebrows were raised as she saw that Emma’s character had just used a bat to steal a car.

 

“Oh, hey hon,” David stood up and grabbed the bags from her, pecking her cheek. “Lily and Ruby got Emma this game.”

“Uh huh,” Mary nodded, walking over. “I thought I’ve said no violent games.”

“Mama,” Emma whined. “It’s not that bad.”

“We’ll see.” She went to shut off the console, but David gently grabbed her hand.

“Uh, let Emma save it first.”

 

Mary rolled her eyes, but allowed her daughter to do so. She should’ve known David would be just as bad.

 

“I’ll go put this stuff away,” David said, holding up the bags before walking into the other room.

Mary sat down beside her daughter, running a hand through her tangled curls. “How are you feeling, Princess?”

“My head still kinda hurts,” Emma admitted. “Ankle, too.”

“Daddy will get you your pills.”

“I don’t need pills.”

“Okay, baby,” Mary responded, not looking for a fight. “I got stuff to make pasta for dinner.”

“Sounds good.”

 

David returned a moment later holding out two pills along with a glass of water. Emma shook her head.

 

“Emma,” David said, using his dad voice. She shook her head again, refusing to open her mouth. “Emma, you need to take these so you won’t be in pain.”

“I’m fine, I don’t need painkillers.”

“Yes, you do.”

 

Emma rolled her eyes and just stared at him. He stared back at her, clearly not backing down, but she wasn’t either. It went on for a few minutes, neither father nor daughter backing down. Mary appeared behind her husband, using her mom look on her stubborn child. Emma drew back a bit, for some reason her mom always seemed to have that down pack. She held out her hand for the pills and David handed them over, giving her the water once she took them.

 

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” David asked. Emma didn’t say anything, she just crossed her arms, looking completely adorable to her parents. They both stifled a smile and exchanged a silent conversation with their eyes. Emma watched them, getting more annoyed. They noticed and couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you just going to glare at us all night?”

 

She didn’t say anything.

 

“Silent treatment,” Mary giggled. “Cute.”

“It is not cute!” Emma protested.

“That lasted long,” David teased.

 

Emma rolled her eyes and leaned back. David sat beside her, moving her to make room, making sure her ankle was still propped up as he did, ignoring the cautious stares from his wife who was internally freaking out at the thought of her ankle being hurt.

 

“I’ll go fix us some dinner,” she said, giving her husband a Look that said “If you hurt my baby, I hurt you.” She knew her husband meant well, but she still worried. David laughed and kissed Emma’s head as she walked out.

“If looks could kill, I’d be dead by now between you and your mother,” he told her. Emma gave him another one. “Wow, three for three. Em, are you going to be this crabby the entire time you’re hurt?”

“Are you going to be this annoying?”

“Probably, yes.”

 

She poked out her tongue and went to get up.

 

“And just where do you think you’re going?” David asked.

“I have to get something in my room.”

“I’ll get it.”

“Dad, I have crutches.”

“And Whale said to rest every chance you get. What do you need?”

“I’m just going to go get it,” Emma continued to get off the couch, but yelped a little in pain as she did. David made her lay back down and gave her a Look. She sighed and folded her arms yet again. “I have a plastic bag on a shelf in my closet.”

“I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

 

He grabbed a blanket from under the coffee table and draped it over her before going upstairs. Once in his daughter’s room, he located the bag in her closet (which just so happened to be the highest, it lead him to wonder if his daughter thought she was Spiderman) and also her baby blanket and pajamas. He hoped she would get some sleep, the painkillers could make her tired. Not that she would admit that she was.

 

When he came back down, he handed her the bag and her blanket. Emma smiled, holding it close.

 

“Thank you, Daddy,” she said.

“You’re welcome. I brought you some pajamas, too. Your mom can help you change.”

“I don’t need help changing,” Emma argued, her cheeks lightly turning pink.

“You might, you can barely stand,” he told her. “What’s in the bag anyway?”

“You’ll see when Mama comes back.”

“That’s not fair,” he pouted.

She giggled. “Only I can pull off the puppy dog eyes.”

 

Mary walked in a little later with bowls of pasta, with a tray for Emma so she didn’t have to sit up. About half-way through eating, David began eyeing the bag again. His daughter seemed awfully attached ot it.

 

“Is that a bomb?” He teased.

“Yeah, I had you adopt me so I could complete an internal plot against this small town,” Emma retorted.

Mary giggled and rolled her eyes at the same time. “What’s in the bag, sweets?” The blonde reached in and pulled out a DVD case, causing the brunette’s eyes to light up. “Matilda.”

“Matilda?” David repeated.

“It’s a movie about a little girl who’s super smart and has magic powers,” Emma explained. “And the only person who’s nice to her, is her teacher.”

“Miss Honey,” Mary added.

“It sounds familiar. You seem to like it hon, how come you’ve never made me watch it?” David asked.

Mary shrugged. “Guess it missed my collection.”

“I watched it in one of my foster homes and fell in love with it, I read the book too. I always wanted a Miss Honey of my own.” The last part came out in almost a whisper. Mary smiled, she hadn’t ever thought of it that way. She was a teacher and while Emma was never her student, she did adopt a very special little girl who came from a terrible home. Mary got up and kissed her daughter’s cheek, causing her to smile to. “Got my wish.”

“You sure did, sweet girl.”

“Alright, let’s watch it,” David said, getting up to put in the DVD, letting his wife have a turn to sit with their daughter, clearly telling that Emma got this more for the two of them. He didn’t mind, at all.

 

The movie always made Mary cry and her husband could see why. Minus the magic, Matilda could be Emma. And while Mary was a lot tougher than Miss Honey, there were similarities there.

 

“If only it was that easy,” David murmured during the scene where Matilda announced she had printed up adoption papers for her “parents” to let her live with Miss Honey.

“Shut up,” Mary told him, as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. “Don’t overthink it, it’s sweet.”

He smiled and tossed her the tissues. “My apologies, Milady.”

 

As the credits rolled, Mary glanced down to find Emma fast asleep. She smiled and stroked her hair.

 

“Good call with the blanket, I think it helped her fall asleep faster,” she whispered.

“I knew she was going to be stubborn and fight it.”

“I have a feeling we’re in for quite the battle the next few weeks.”

“Yeah, but we’ll get through it. There’s two of us, one of her.”

“So long as you don’t let her puppy dog eyes win,” Mary said with an eyebrow raise.

“Hey now, I do not…” David trailed off. “I have no further comment.”

She giggled. “I think she needs to sleep in her own bed tonight.”

“Agreed. But she needs to get out of this dress. We’ll have to wake her up. You wanna do the honors, Mama?” He smirked.

“Oh, so I get cranky, Emma.” She leaned down and slowly shook her daughter awake. “Emma, sweets, wake up.”

“Mmm…tired.”

“I know, but you need to put on some pajamas, come on.” Mary slowly helped her up and helped her into the bathroom. She removed the air cast. “Do you need help?”

“’M fine,” Emma mumbled, sleepily, grabbing her pajamas away and shutting the door. She was so out of it and trying to avoid putting too much pressure on her ankle, that it was quite the challenge, but she didn’t want to burden her parents even more. She got dressed as best she could before walking back out. Mary discreetly fixed her shirt before David picked her up to carry her upstairs.

 

After tucking her in, they both laid kisses to her forehead and gave her, her baby blanket. Day one as officially a family had come to a close and tomorrow would be another big day.

* * *

David woke up the next morning to find the other side of the bed empty, but he could hear his wife moving around downstairs. He yawned and got up, grabbing Emma’s painkillers and some water, going into her bedroom. The birthday girl was still fast asleep. A smile spread across his face, he couldn’t believe how much she had grown up in the 7 months they had known her. Now she was 14. But from the blanket in her arms, he could tell she was still a little girl.

 

He walked to her side and crouched down to her level, slowly shaking her awake.

 

“Morning Princess, happy birthday!” He exclaimed, his grin wide.

Emma partially smiled, blinking herself awake. “Thanks, Daddy.”

“I’m going to go find your mother, but let’s get this out of the way.” He held out the pills and medicine. She sighed but due to it being so early, quickly accepted them. “Good job, I’ll be right back.”

 

Once downstairs, he smelled not breakfast foods, but chocolate. Raising an eyebrow and wondering if his wife had been replaced by aliens, he walked into the kitchen, finding her stirring batter in a bowl. Her famous homemade chocolate icing was nearby, ready to be put in the fridge to cool.

 

“Who are you and what have you done with my wife?”

Mary looked up and laughed. “Good morning to you too.”

He walked over, pecking her lips. “This is what you do to make for your double chocolate cake.”

“Well it is Emma’s favorite, it’s just for later.”

“Is a cake too much?”

“It’s not a birthday cake if I just write Emma on it…” Mary said, trying to stay hopeful.

He chuckled. “Well I just told her Happy Birthday and she seemed to have no problem with it.”

“And her pills?”

“Took them without a fight, but that’s probably because she was so groggy.”

“We should take what we can get,” Mary pointed to a tinfoil covered plate. “Put that in the microwave, please? I made her pancakes.”

“I could’ve done that.”

“I was up. I’m sure they’re not as good as yours, I don’t know the secret ingredient of course,” she winked.

He chuckled and removed the foil, sticking the plate in the microwave, to zap them quickly. Once they were done, Mary poured the cake batter into the pan and stuck the icing in the fridge before following her husband upstairs. Emma was using her crutches to get out of her bathroom. “Emma.”

“I had to pee, I was fine,” she said with an eye roll as she got back in bed.

“Happy birthday, baby!” Mary said with a smile, kissing her cheek.

“Thanks Mama,” she replied with a small smile. She spotted the plate. “Are those pancakes?”

“I made them, not sure if they’re as good as your dad’s but…”

“I’m sure they’re great,” Emma replied as her dad set down the plate as he and his wife settled down with their own.

“So what are we doing today, for your birthday?” David asked. “Not that you can move much with your ankle.”

“I just wanted to watch a movie. And have ice cream for dinner,” she smirked at Mary.

“I did agree to that, didn’t I?” Her mother said, shaking her head.

“Wow, really who are you and what have you done with my wife?” David quipped.

“I said we could do whatever she wanted, she worked that in. Little con artist.”

“She also apparently thinks she’s Spiderman.” He gave Emma a pointed look. “Why was that bag on the top shelf of your closet?”

“Because I was trying to hide it from Mom,” Emma made a face.

“No more climbing.”

“Dad.”

“Emma.”

 

After breakfast, Mary agreed to let Emma get up to shower and dress, waiting impatiently outside the door. Once she limped back out, she was forced to go back to bed. They spent the morning watching movies and icing and heating her ankle to keep the swelling down. That afternoon, Mary carefully carried the cake upstairs. She had a candle and lighter carefully tucked in her pocket, just in case, David followed with the plates. Emma saw the cake and bit her lip. She had never had one before. She began to get hit by memories of _that_ birthday, the one she dreaded, but pushed it away. She started to do the silent brain exercises Archie had taught her.

 

_They were your past, Mom and Dad are your now._

 

“It’s your favorite,” Mary explained. “It doesn’t have to be a birthday cake if you don’t want it to.”

Emma took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. She looked up at her parents, they both looked so happy, so expectant. “I guess it could be.”

Mary beamed brighter and pulled out the candle, sticking it in the middle and lighting it. She sat down on the bed and held it out. “Make a wish, baby girl.”

 

She was adopted the day before, her parents had been taking care of her despite her getting hurt by doing something stupid and despite what _they_ wanted for her birthday, they were willing to do whatever would make _her_ comfortable.

 

What more could she wish for?

 

She simply closed her eyes before she started crying tears of happiness and made a secret wish, one she wasn’t even sure she knew about.

 

“Alright, let’s have some cake!” David said, cutting them pieces. He went to set Emma’s tray down and accidentally knocked against her ankle. Regret filled his face when he heard his daughter whimper in pain. “Sorry, Princess.”

“S’okay,” she said, taking a bite.

“You can take more medicine after this,” Mary said. “And then we could either watch another movie or play a game.”

“Not Scrabble, you cheat,” David said.

“I do not cheat,” Mary protested. “Unlike you and Battleship.”

“How does one cheat at Battleship?” Emma asked, amused.

“Your father has found ways.”

 

After they finished with the cake, Mary disappeared again. Emma worried it was already time for more pills, but she returned with a gift bag. It wasn’t specifically for birthdays but it had balloons on it.

  
“This is uh…just because,” Mary said, nervously.

Emma smiled a little. “You got me a birthday present.”

“You’re our daughter, what did you expect?” She handed it over.

“But you already got me the console and the video games…”

“Adoption Day present,” David cut her off, quickly.

Emma sighed. “You guys, this is too much. I don’t deserve all this.”

“Yes, you do, Princess.”

 

Emma sighed and opened the gift, pulling out a small jewelry box. Inside was a heart shaped locket with the initials “ERN” on the front. She opened it and laughed at the picture. It was the one from the day before, at the courthouse. They all looked like a hot mess from the tears and the girls’ running makeup. But it was perfect because it was real, it showed the emotions from that day.

 

“I was going to put a different picture in there,” Mary explained. “But that one just seemed perfect.”

“It is, thank you.” She reached over to hug her and then David.

 

Later on she would notice the inscription on the other part of the locket…

_Ohana means family, family means no one gets left behind or forgotten._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter so soon, but only because you guys rocked the reviews! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and all the fluff, haha. Funny story about the Matilda part, it’s one of my favorite movies and it didn’t even occur to me to include it until tonight. I’m a nanny and the 6-year-old asked me to read him a part of it. I was like “Emma and Mary are Matilda and Miss Honey!”, haha. Anyway, Emma had a great couple of days, but as you can see, she’s a bit stubborn. How much will she listen to “Rest whenever possible”? As always, reviews and prompts for this are much appreciated! You all are so awesome.


	25. Grumpy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, if you have ideas on what you want to see, let me know.

Emma finished getting dressed after her shower that Monday morning and limped out into her bedroom where Mary waited. She stifled an eye roll. Whale had said she’d be good to return to school, so long as she rest whenever she could, but her parents were nervous. If it were up to David, she’d probably be home until the cast was off. She was still in a little pain but wasn’t going to admit that to either of them.

 

“Here, I’ll help you put your cast back on,” Mary said, gesturing to the bed. Emma sighed but obliged, not feeling up for an argument. Her mother carefully put on the boot type brace and made sure it was going to stay in place before placing a sneaker on Emma’s other foot. “There we go.”

“Thanks Mama,” Emma replied.

“I’m bringing your pain killers with me, so if you need them during the day, come see me,” she said as she passed over the crutches.

“I’ll be fine. You and Dad are overreacting.”

Mary gave her a Look. “Your ankle is really hurt; you’re going to need surgery eventually. We’re going to be cautious.”

“Dad’s not even letting me walk,” Emma half-whined.

 

Mary had to hide a laugh, knowing her daughter was right. David really hadn’t allowed Emma to use her crutches, he insisted it was just easier for him to carry her. Mary had tried to tell him it’d be best for her to learn how to use them, so she could walk at school, but her husband didn’t listen. Luckily, the brunette had managed to get her daughter on them while he was at work, so she’d be confident to walk around the school.

 

“Your dad loves you, sweets.”

“That and he’s seriously overprotective.”

“Because he loves you,” Mary gave her a smile. “You are the most precious thing to him, to both of us.”

 

The blonde sighed and grabbed her bookbag, throwing it over her shoulder. Mary helped her with the crutches and followed her slowly down the stairs. David stood there, with his arms folded.

 

“You should’ve let me help her,” he said to his wife.

“She won’t have us when she’s at school,” Mary reminded him, gently. “She needs to do this on her own.”

He sighed and looked at his daughter. “Your mother has meetings after school, so I’ll pick you up.”

“Not literally, right?” Emma asked.

David’s baby blues rolled. “Yes, not literally.” He kissed the top of her forehead and hugged her as tight as he could without hurting her. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.” She kissed his cheek. “I’ll be fine.”

 

David knew he was being overprotective, but he just couldn’t help it. Emma was stubborn and while he trusted her, he had a feeling that she would go too far. She may not have meant to, but she’d think something wasn’t a big deal and do it.

 

“Bye baby,” Mary said, kissing his lips before helping their daughter out the door.

David gnawed on his lip, there was an uneasy feeling in his stomach, like he could sense something bad was going to happen. But, there wasn’t much he could do about it, so he headed to work.

* * *

“Wow, you can pull of crutches,” Lily teased as Emma crutched into homeroom.

She giggled. “Thanks.”

“Does it hurt?” Ruby asked.

“Kind of, not really.”

“It sucks that you can’t try out for cross country,” Lily said with a sympathetic pout.

“Oh I don’t know about that,” Emma said, pulling out her books.

Lily gave her a Look. “But I thought you said that Whale said…”

“Whale doesn’t know everything. I’m sure my ankle will be okay enough.”

 

Ruby and Lily exchanged a Look, but didn’t say anything else. They just hoped Emma knew what she was talking about. Their parents always went on and on about how Emma kept them out of trouble, though the girls knew Emma wasn’t that great at keeping herself out of it.

 

The rest of the day seemed to pass by slowly for the blonde teen and her ankle was hurting more and more. She didn’t feel like walking all the way to the elementary school side or bothering her mom, she figured she was too busy with class. She knew Mary would make a fuss over her and she didn’t feel up to being treated like a small child in front of already small children. It didn’t help that she didn’t exactly sit whenever she could. In her Science class, they had to get the lab done, she wasn’t about to have her group suffer because she did something stupid.

 

As she was heading outside to wait for her dad, Coach approached her.

 

“Wow, Emma, what’d you do?” He asked, a bit of playful teasing in her voice.

Emma lightly smiled. “I fell off a counter top.”

“You? You who can leap over a hurdle like no one’s business?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“I miscalculated my steps,” she admitted, feeling a tad embarrassed.

“Is it bad?”

Emma debated what to say. On the one hand, Whale had told her not to try out. On the other, it wasn’t like he would go out of his way to tell the coach. Her parents wouldn’t either. She would just make something up, plans with Ruby or something. “Just a couple of weeks. I’ll be good as new for cross country try outs.”

Coach smiled. “Great to hear. Just make sure you have a doctor’s note so you’re out of gym while you’re on the crutches.”

“Of course, thanks, Coach.”

“Anytime, Em.”

 

Emma crutched out the door and found her father standing by his truck. For a minute, she really wondered if he was going to pick her up in front of everyone. She slowly crutched over to him.

 

“Hey Dad.”

“Hey Em,” he took her crutches and put them in the backseat of the truck. He then placed a hand on his daughter’s back and took her arm, gently guiding her up into her seat. Emma let out a small sigh of relief and then noticed her father smiling. “I told you I wouldn’t pick you up.”

“Well I wasn’t sure when I saw you waiting outside.”

“Well, I always have to help you out.” He put her seatbelt on for her and got in on the other side, pulling out. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” His eyes narrowed and she looked out the window. “Coach says I need a note to get out of gym, as if it weren’t obvious.”

“Whale faxed me one, I’ll put it in your backpack for tomorrow,” he said. “And how about you tell me how you really feel?”

“Daddy, I’m…”

“If you say the word fine, you’ll be grounded for life.”

Emma giggled and her father even laughed a little too at how ridiculous the statement was. “For life? A bit extreme, dontchya think?”

“Just tell me how you really feel?”

She sighed, drumming her fingers on the windowsill. “It hurts a little, but it’s not that bad.”

“What’s not that bad?”

“Dad, seriously. I get you care, but you shouldn’t care this much.”

“When have I ever not cared this much?’

“Well you shouldn’t,” she mumbled. “This is all my fault.”

David glanced at her as he pulled to a red light. “What does that mean?”

“What do you think? If I hadn’t been up on the counter, I wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“You had a lapse of judgement, that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be taken care of.”

“Every time I get sick or hurt, it’s my own fault.”

“That’s not true.”

“Kinda is. If I bring it on myself, I should deal with it myself.”

David shook his head. “Princess, you’re a kid. You make mistakes, but we’re always going to help you clean them up.”

“I’m never gonna learn, you know,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, you will. You learned not to go ice skating on barely frozen over lakes,” he reminded her. “And I doubt you’ll ever climb up on a high counter top again, right?”

Emma nodded, honestly. Getting that sick and this hurt had not been worth either of those things. “Yeah.”

“So you do learn, even if you get help in the process. There’s a difference between enabling and helping, I would know.”

 

They soon arrived at the house and David scooped her up from the back, laughing at the glare he got.

 

“I promised not to carry you at school, you said nothing at home,” he told her, innocently.

“How are you allowed to bend what you say like that, but if I do, I get in trouble?”

“Um, because I’m your father.”

“Seriously, you’re going to break your back from carrying me.”

“Emma, you’re like 100 pounds. I’ve had to drag perps double your size into a cell, you’re like a feather in comparison,” he told her. He had always been a little worried about her weight. She ate a ton but never seemed to gain any. Mary said the girl was growing, but he didn’t really see it. When she first got there, she hadn’t been malnourished or anything, but she hadn’t been eating that well. She had gotten better in the time she was with them. Despite that, he still hoped that his wife was right, that it was normal. He knew boys grew like that, but he thought girls were different.

 

He settled her on the couch, propping up her ankle. Mary had agreed she didn’t need to be on complete bed rest. It was more because of how Emma hated being by herself. The girl had spent enough time like that in the system. She needed to at least be on the same floor as her parents, at least during the day.

 

“Alright, do you have any homework?”

“Just reading,” Emma replied. “I can get the book, it’s in my bag…”

“I’ll get it.” He reached in and pulled out the book, though he also noticed a flyer for cross country tryouts. His eyebrows furrowed as he took it out. “Em, are you trying out for cross country.”

The blonde did her best to hide the panic on her face. “No, of course not.”

“Why do you have a flyer for it?”

She mentally sighed in relief, she didn’t have to lie about that one. “I had that before the incident.” It was the truth, she had grabbed it just days before she was adopted.

“So I can throw it out?”

“Go ahead.” _I already know the date, anyway._

David studied the flyer for a moment, memorizing the date. He wanted to believe his daughter, but a part of him worried she’d try to be stubborn and go anyway. A part of him debated contacting the coach.

 

_You can’t do that; you need to trust your daughter. She wouldn’t really risk pushing up the need for surgery. She just admitted to learning from this whole thing._

Keeping the date in mind, he tossed it out and grabbed the pain killers that Mary had left at the house, they agreed carrying around a full container everywhere may lead to trouble. When he walked back in, Oliver was curled up on her chest as she read. He couldn’t help but smile, that cat was so good to her.

 

“Alright Princess, it’s time for your medicine.”

Emma’s eyes rolled. “I don’t need those stupid things.”

“Yeah, you do. Come on.” She shook her head and went back to her book. “Emma.” Still nothing. He walked over and took her book.

“Dad!”

“Pills, you take them,” he dropped them into her hands along with a small cup of water. “Or I can just call your mother.”

 

 A weak copout, he knew. But Mary seemed to be the only one who could get her to take them. Somehow her “Mom Stare” was more powerful than his dad one. Regardless, the threat worked and she took them. David nodded, knowing that wouldn’t work for much longer.

 

“I have some paperwork to get done, you going to be okay?”

“I’m fourteen years, not months,” she reminded him.

He rolled his eyes. “Really? I hadn’t noticed. You’re just so adorable.”

Emma poked out her tongue. “I can handle myself.”

“Great, if you need anything, just come get me.” He kissed the top of her head and headed into the study to get his work done.

 

Once Emma finished her reading, she started to catch up on some T.V, but that quickly bored her. She wished she could be hanging out with her friends, but there was no chance of that. Even if Emma promised to sit the whole time, they hadn’t budged on that quite yet. Emma wanted her laptop, at the very least she could try to Skype with Bae or Lily.

 

Her eyes glanced to David’s study. She didn’t want to bother him for this, but remembered he had left her crutches in the back of his truck. She slowly got up, hopping on one foot. She did it for the bathroom, how bad could a trip up and down the stairs be?

 

It proved to take more out of her than she thought it would. The pain killers were working so the pain wasn’t that bad, but her breathing was definitely affected. She clutched her laptop with one hand and the banister with the other as she came down. Trying to hop and watch where she was going, balancing her laptop and her good leg was just too much. By the time she got to the bottom, she was having trouble breathing completely. It didn’t help that she nearly fell when she reached the bottom, only catching herself on the table that was there. David heard it all and came out.

 

“Emma! What are you doing up?”

“Lap…laptop,” she wheezed.

His face softened, realizing she was on the brink of an asthma attack. He helped her back to the couch and had her lay back down before going to get her inhaler. He held it up to her lips and was surprised when she took it with no protest. Soon, her breathing had returned to normal. “There we go, doesn’t that feel better?”

She slowly nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”

“So I repeat, what were you doing up?” He asked, folding his arms.

“I was bored,” her voice came out in a whine when she didn’t even mean it to. “So I went to get this.” She held up the laptop.

“You could’ve just called for me.”

“I wasn’t going to bother you over that. I was fine.”

“What’d I say about that word?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “I was.”

“You nearly fell and almost had an asthma attack. That does not qualify as fine. Now, I know why you want to lay on the couch and I get that, but if you do this again, you’ll have to stay with one of us at all times?”

Emma pouted. “Dad.”

“If you agree to never get up like that again unless it’s for the bathroom, then it shouldn’t be a problem,” he replied, matter-of-factly.

“Alright, alright,” she conceded.

“Good.” David pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I don’t want you getting hurt any further.” He noticed her eyes were drooping a bit. “Why don’t you get some rest, baby girl?”

“I don’t need a nap,” she protested as he took her laptop and placed it on the table.

“It’s not a nap, just some rest. I won’t let you sleep too long or else you won’t tonight. But I think you just took a lot out of yourself.”

 

Emma wanted to protest, but couldn’t as her dad tucked her in under a quilt, making it near impossible for her to get out and her baby blanket, which they made sure to move back and forth, just in case, was placed on top of her. She was already falling asleep as her father kissed her temple and couldn’t even hear his “I love you, Princess” before she drifted off completely.

 

_Emma walked through the door of her home, though not the one she lived in now. It was a foster home. They hadn’t been abusive, just hands off. The 10-year-old was nothing more than a check to them. That day, she had thought it’d be smart to jump off the slide. Her ankle hurt, but the nurse had said since there was no swelling there was no concern. She managed to limp home from the bus stop. She was the only child in the home and had been there for all of 2 weeks._

_“Emma, what took you so long?” Her foster mother, pressed._

_“I got hurt,” she admitted._

_A little bit of worry did cross across the woman’s eye, more than likely because if the girl got hurt, she could be blamed. She knew Emma’s “reputation”._

_“How?”_

_“I jumped off the slide.”_

_“Why would you do that?!?” The woman in front of her practically yelled. “I mean seriously, Emma. What would make you think that was a smart idea?!?”_

_The girl gnawed on her lip. “There was this girl, she was being mean and told me she’d beat me up if I didn’t.”_

_“If you slid down the slide, you could’ve just ran and told a teacher! God, you are so stupid, Emma! Do you realize that your social worker might not believe the story? She may think we did something to you!”_

_Emma shivered a bit. “I…I’ll tell her the truth.”_

_“Like anyone would believe you!” The woman shook her head. “I swear, if you come between me and my checks, you’ll be sorry.”_

_“Please,” Emma pleaded. “I’ll be good. I won’t do anything like that again.”_

_“Of course you will,” the foster mom venomously spat back. “You always find a way to screw things up. This is your 5 th placement in 5 years! It can’t be all those people! It’s you! You’ll always screw up, it’s what you do.”_

* * *

Mary walked through the door and headed straight into the living room. Emma was sleeping, but she could tell it was a bit restlessly. She crept over and pushed back her hair. The green eyes flickered open.

 

“Mama,” she whispered.

“Hey sweets,” she gave her a sad smile. “Bad dream?”

“Memory.”

“Was it about Ed?”

Emma shook her head. “Foster home.”

Mary sat beside her, carding her fingers through her daughter’s curls. She figured it couldn’t be that bad, Emma hadn’t been screaming or anything. “Wanna talk about it?” The curls moved back and forth in a no. “Alright, baby. It might help, though.”

“It’s nothing you can fix, it’s the truth.”

Mary’s eyebrows knitted together, most of the time when her daughter said that, she was wrong. “Maybe I can’t fix it, but I’d like to know what this truth is.”

“That I just look for trouble, I’m a screw up,” Emma mumbled, her eyes casting downwards.

“Hey,” Mary cupped her daughter’s face. “You are not a screw up. And you don’t look for trouble.”

“Yeah, I do. I always have. I can never do the right thing. There had to be a reason why I was in so many foster homes before here.”

“That had zero to do with you and all to do with the people you were with. You are such a precious girl,” Mary told her, tapping her nose. “They’re the screw ups for not seeing that.”

“Mama…”

“It’s true. Now who told you this in your dream?”

“No one, it doesn’t matter.”

“Emma.” Her daughter looked up, pouting. Mary sighed. “Alright, alright. The discussion is over, for now. Just know that you’re not a screw up. Now, how are you feeling?”

“I’d say fine, but Daddy threatened to ground me for life if I did again.”

Mary stifled a laugh. “Did he now?”

“Yeah, but I think saying good, is acceptable.”

“Only if it’s the truth.” She saw her daughter look down at the blankets. “Alright, so you’re not. Maybe you just need more rest. After dinner, I want you in bed.”

“Mama…”

“I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”

“But…”

“No buts, I’m sure walking around all day didn’t help things.”

 

She kissed her daughter’s head and went into the kitchen. David joined her a moment later, kissing his wife tenderly.

 

“How was your day?” He asked.

“Pretty good, worried about Emma. And you?”

“The same. I gave her some more pain medicine and her inhaler.”

Panic filled Mary’s eyes. “Inhaler? Did she have an asthma attack?”

“No, but she was short on breath after walking up and down the stairs, I think between that and walking around at school, it was all too much.”

“Why was she going up and down the stairs?”

“Because she was too stubborn to ask me for what she wanted.”

Mary laughed, in spite of the situation. “Of course. I have a feeling this will be an interesting healing process.”

“I’m dreading when she’s no longer being told to rest whenever possible. I have a feeling she’ll take that to jump back into her typical mischief.”

“She doesn’t get in _that_ much trouble.”

“True, but she does do a lot of activity. Why can’t her and her friends be the dorky kids who read all day,” David complained.

Mary smiled. “Oh David.”

“It’d just make me less prone to gray hairs. I swear, I found one the other day.”

“David, you are 29 years old!”

“I know! But it was there, I swear.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “You are so overly dramatic.”

“I think I see one on you,” he said. She gasped and grabbed the toaster, inspecting her bob. “Gotchya.”

She spun around. “That was a very dirty trick,” she retorted with a glare.

“You love me,” he pulled her into his arms, kissing her once again.

“I do, but if I see you dying your hair to get rid of those elusive “gray ones”, I will divorce you,” Mary teased.

David rolled his eyes. “Like you would last all of five seconds without me.”

“Very, very true,” she admitted.

 

Emma was getting considerably grumpy over the next few days. David had gotten Whale to write a note basically saying that Emma had to sit in all her classes (even Science). He also found out his daughter had turned down the elevator pass and made sure she got one, so she could get to where she needed to go easier. Everyone seemed to be watching her like a hawk and it was driving her crazy.

 

Mary could sympathize. She knew it was necessary, but also knew it couldn’t be easy for her daughter. So, she offered to take her to Granny’s for some hot cocoa and onion rings once school was out, in order to cheer her up. As grumpy as the teen was, she couldn’t pass it up and agreed to go. Though, her mood wasn’t improving.

 

“Emma,” Mary said, gently after they had been served. “I know it’s not easy having to rest…”

“Or having the entire school stare at me like I’m on display at the zoo,” Emma grumbled as she shoved an onion ring into her mouth.

“But it’s for your own good. And being in a bad mood won’t help the time pass by any faster.”

 

The teen simply glared at her mother and Mary shook her head, knowing her daughter, the real Emma was under there, somewhere. She was going to respond, when she felt someone watching them. When she turned, she noticed a tall woman sitting at the counter. She had a plate of food in front of her, but it was untouched. The teacher realized that she had been in there, same spot, same amount of food since they arrived.

 

Trying not to go into complete protective mama bear mode, she carefully inspected the woman. She had hair so blonde, it was nearly white and blue eyes. She was a little dressed up for Granny’s, wearing a white pantsuit. Mary knew everyone in town and yet, didn’t recognize her. Of course, there was a chance she was just knew, but one of her friends would’ve mentioned that. Mary glanced back at her daughter, who was oblivious to it all. She was taking her aggression out on an onion ring, dissecting it with a knife.

 

_Reminder: Knives and Emma…not the best idea._

The woman noticed Mary had seen her and yet, didn’t break her trance. It was only then, the brunette realized that the mystery woman wasn’t staring at _them_ , she was staring solely at Emma. The teen’s legs were under the table and you wouldn’t be able to see the boot, the crutches also safely tucked away, so it wasn’t that. She had tried not to get too paranoid by this, but she couldn’t help it.

 

“Em, I have to go ask Granny something.” She got a grunt of acknowledgement. “Those onion rings taste better when eaten, by the way.”

 

Mary walked to the counter before Emma could shoot her another glare. She marched right up to the woman.

 

“Is there a problem?” She asked, cutting to the chase. Maybe it was dealing with a crabby teen, but she was not in the mood. The mystery woman looked a bit caught off guard. “With my daughter?”

“Your daughter,” the woman slowly repeated.

Mary shook her head, thinking she knew what it was about. “Yes, my daughter. I know I don’t look that much older than her, but I fail to see how that’s your business.” They had gotten these look before, when they drove outside of town. Many assumed Mary had been a teenage mother and she didn’t understand why that’d be cause for judgement. Emma appeared to be a happy and healthy teen. Though of course right now, she looked miserable.

“It…it’s not that,” the blonde stammered.

“Then what?” Mary demanded. “Why have you been staring at her? She’s not an exhibit.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman sounded sincerely apologetic and Mary sighed, feeling her walls lowering a bit.

“Look, I know I came over here guns a blazing, but that’s my daughter. What about her is so fascinating?”

The woman bit her lip, clearly debating on what to say next. “My name is Ingrid. Ingrid Fisher.”

“Okay?”

“Your daughter knows me, or she did. She may not remember.”

Mary’s arms folded. “Are you a former foster mother?”

“No…no, nothing like that. But I um, I knew her mother.”

The brunette cocked an eyebrow. “I’m her mother and I have no clue who you are.”

Ingrid gave the mama bear a patient smile. “Her biological mother.”

Mary stared at her for a moment. “How, exactly?”

“I was her sister.”

 

Mary’s mouth fell open a bit, though she instantly closed it. She looked back at her daughter, who was now sipping her cocoa, having dissected all of the onion rings. She glanced back at the woman in front of her.

 

“We were told that outside Ed Swan, she had no living family,” Mary said, trying to stay calm.

“No, she just didn’t have any family that could take her in.”

Mary’s eyes narrowed. “Well she’s adopted now, so if you think you can just walk in here and try to take her back…” She trailed off, anger filling her. No one was going to take her daughter from her.

“I know that, I do. I’m not here to take Emma from you. She seems um…” Ingrid could clearly tell at the moment Emma wasn’t happy. “Well, like a teenager.”

“She’s fine,” Mary replied, her voice short and clipped.

“I just want to talk to her…I have things to explain.”

 

Mary studied the woman for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Finally a question came to mind.

 

“How’d you find us?”

“A private investigator,” Ingrid admitted, looking a little guilty.

“Well, you can’t just…”

“Mom?”

 

Mary turned around to find Emma standing there, on her crutches.

 

“Emma, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just saw you looked upset. What’s going on?” She looked over at the woman. “Who is this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh…what does Ingrid have to explain? Will Mama Bear Mary let her? Keep the great reviews coming guys!


	26. Did You Know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Child abuse (of the physical, sexual and emotional type) mentioned in this chapter. Also talks about abortion, not one that occurred, but the topic is covered as well…

Mary looked between her daughter and Ingrid. They did look a little alike, with the hair and their nose. Her heart was pounding heavily. Selfishly, she was always glad that Emma’s birth mother was dead. Not only was she a terrible person to abuse her daughter and to allow her to be abused, but because it meant she didn’t have to ever worry about Emma talking to her. She could be her only mother. This woman, the way she was looking at Emma, so lovingly, it scared her. Yet Emma’s face was full of confusion, any teen angst from earlier was completely gone.

 

100% adoptable. That’s what she had been told. By David, by the social worker, by everyone. No one could take her daughter from her, sure. But this woman, this woman was a tie to her little girl’s past. If they had a good connection, what if Emma stopped thinking of her as her mother? What if she wanted this woman instead? Her mind drifted to the dream she had months ago, back when the blonde was mad at her.

 

Blood doesn’t make a family, but could it change how Emma looked at her?  


Before Mary could say anything, Ingrid spoke. “Look at you, you’re so grown up.”

Emma’s eyebrow raised. “Um, do I know you?”

Ingrid’s face seemed to fall. “You don’t remember me?”

“Should I?”

Mary put an arm around her daughter, rubbing her shoulders. “Why don’t you go sit back down, sweets? You need to relax.”

“Mama, who is this?” Emma suddenly looked scared. Her face made her mother frown, her little girl had been through so much. Yet, she deserved the truth. “Is she trying to take me away?”

“No, no, no, baby girl. _No one_ could take you away from me and Dad,” Mary assured her, her facial expression very serious. She was talking to directly to Emma, but made sure it was clear to Ingrid that she better listen up.

“Then what’s going on?” The teen looked over at Ingrid. “Who are you? Why are you upsetting my mom?”

 

Despite the tension, Mary had to hide a smile at how protective her baby was of her.

 

“Emma, I…my name is Ingrid,” the woman finally responded.

 

Emma’s green eyes went wide, as the memories hit her. Ingrid. Aunt Ingrid. Slowly, she started to back away.

 

“Why are you here?”

“I just want to talk to you, I’ve been trying to find you for a while now,” Ingrid tried to explain, her voice soothing.

 

Emma shook her head and continued backing up. However, she ended up tripping on her crutches and falling to the ground, pain filling her ankle again.

 

“Emma!” Mary knelt by her side, brushing the hair from her face. “Are you okay?”

For the first time, she was honest up front and shook her head. “It hurts.”

“Come on, let’s get you home.” Mary slowly helped her up, inspecting her head for any injuries.

“Emma…” Ingrid began, going to check on her niece.

Mary cut her off, briskly. “You’ve done enough.” She pulled some money out of her purse and handed it over to Granny, who had been protectively watching her surrogate child and grandchild.

“Do you need some help getting her to the car?” The older woman asked.

“No, she’ll be fine, thanks.” The brunette lead her daughter out the door, rubbing her back. She could sense someone following them as she watched Emma get into the car. She spun around and sure enough, Ingrid stood there. “You need to back away from my family. My husband is the town sheriff and he’d have no problem reminding you of the law.”

“Please, Mrs….”

“Nolan. Mrs. Nolan.”

“Mrs. Nolan. I know you owe me nothing, I really do just want to talk to Emma. I wasn’t a bad person or aunt; I need her to get why I never came for her.” Ingrid fished through her pocket and pulled out a business card. “I’m staying at the inn for the next few days, if she decides she wants to see me, have her call. You and your husband are welcome to be there as well.” She glanced inside at the teenager, who once again had that protective look about her. “She seems to really adore you.”

 

Ingrid turned and walked off. Mary stood there, debating ripping up the card right then. But she couldn’t, not yet. Not until she talked to her daughter about all of that. She had made the mistake of hiding facts about her birth family before, when it came to Ed. She thought she was protecting her but she wasn’t. She was only hurting her. The mother didn’t want Emma to reconnect with this aunt, but she had to give her the choice.

 

“Mary?” She whipped around to see David standing there. “Are you okay? Who was that woman? Why are you so upset?”

“David,” Mary quickly pulled him into her arms, hugging him tightly for a minute.

David returned the hug, feeling very puzzled. “Babe, what’s going on?”

“That was Emma’s biological aunt,” the brunette pulled away. “Helga’s sister.”

David’s fists clenched as he glanced protectively down at the window at his little girl. He managed a small smile to calm her down before looking up at his wife. “How did she find us?”

“Private investigator. She says she’s not going to try to get her…”

“Well she couldn’t, even if she did. She’s ours.”

“I know that, she knows that, our daughter does as well.” Mary frowned. “But she says she wants to talk to her, explain why she never came for her.”

“No chance in hell,” David said without a moment’s hesitation.

Mary sighed. “Look, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea either. But Emma…”

“Is a 14-year-old girl who has been through a lot and is still in therapy for her past,” her husband argued. “She has PTSD.”

“You’re right, she does. But from what Ingrid said, she wasn’t a bad aunt. It may not bring up bad memories.”

David cocked an eyebrow. “How could it not?”

“I think that we need to leave it up to Emma. Or at the very least talk to her about it,” Mary went on. “Find out how she feels.”

The blonde rubbed the back of his neck, knowing his wife was right. “Alright, alright.”

“Are you done?”

“Just about. I have to go sign just one last piece of paperwork and then I’ll be home. We can talk to her then.”

“Great.”

 

Mary pecked his lips and gave him a reassuring smile, even though she was freaking out on the inside.

 

“We’ll be good. She’ll be good. She has us, no matter what.”

“You’re right, she does.”

 

After one last kiss, Mary got in the car and pulled away from the curb. She glanced over at her daughter, who was fiddling with the ring that hung from the chain on her neck.

 

“Are you okay?”

“Are you?” Emma asked.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m fine, too.”

 

Mary sighed, knowing she had set herself up for that.

 

“I’m freaking out on the inside,” Mary admitted.

Emma looked at her, curiously. “Why? She can’t do anything.”

“Yeah, but she’s someone from your past and I know how hard that is on you. I don’t want you upset,” she explained. Emma’s nose scrunched up and she curled her body towards the window. “You know we have to talk about this, right? Daddy’s coming home.”

The blonde let out a long sigh. “I guess you two have the right to know.”

“That’s not why you should tell us, baby,” Mary whispered. “You should only tell us if you feel comfortable. I just think it will help.”

 

The rest of the ride was silent and soon they were home. Emma sat up on the couch, allowing her mom to fuss over her and check her ankle to make sure it wasn’t hurt from the fall. Mary knew her daughter might be in pain, but wanted to hold off on the medicine, in case it made her drowsy. It wasn’t long before David was inside. He painted on a big smile for his daughter and sat beside her.

 

“Hey baby girl.”

“Hey,” she whispered.

 

His hand ran up and down her arm, while his wife sat on the other side. A part of her felt trapped in a way, though it wasn’t negative. They were blocking her in so she couldn’t run (well, with her ankle all she’d be able to do is limp) away, they didn’t want her to feel like she needed to. Because she was safe and protected.

 

“Do you remember her?” David asked.

“Kinda,” Emma mumbled. “She came around a lot after Ed moved us to Boston and visited us before then when we were in Portland.”

Mary nodded. “And was she…did she well, um…”

“She wasn’t abusive or mean like they were. She was actually kinda nice,” Emma admitted, gnawing on her lip. “We would watch T.V and color.”

Mary slowly nodded, a twinge of jealousy filling her. This woman got to know her daughter when she was that small, got to do things she wished she could’ve done. “Okay.”

“She was the only good thing that I had,” Emma whispered. “She was the one who made my blanket, when my mom was pregnant.”

 

David and Mary had always wondered who had knitted the blanket. It was so beautiful and obviously made with love. It did not parallel their daughter’s childhood at all and they had suspected as much that it had been a gift.

 

“But then I went in the system and they said that I had no family, none that wanted me anyway,” she continued. “That really hurt.”

“I bet,” David said, softly, rubbing her back. “Especially if she had been so nice to you.”

“I wondered if she knew about the abuse that was going on and if that was it, if she blamed me for it, like it was…like it was my fault,” Emma mumbled.

He frowned, tilting her head up. “But it wasn’t your fault, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, now. Then, no,” Emma blinked her tears away.

 

David wrapped his arm around her, hugging her tight and kissing her head. Emma cuddled up against his embrace. That safe feeling had returned. It was weird to her how that could happen, how she could go from feeling vulnerable and scared, to safe as soon as one of her parents hugged her.

 

“What’d she say after I got in the car?” Emma asked her mom.

“That she’s um, going to be in Storybrooke for a while and she wants to explain…” Mary sighed, this was killing her. “Explain why she left. She said she’s not an evil person.”

“She’s not,” the teen whispered.

 

Mary nodded, trying to keep a smile on her face.

 

“What do you want to do?”

“I…I don’t know,” Emma admitted. A part of her did want to hear what Ingrid had to say, she had questions, too. But another part of her didn’t want to hurt her parents. They were her family, all she needed. And she had no interest in letting her aunt back into her life. Who knew what she’d expect?

“We’ll support whatever you want to do,” her mother said, kissing her temple.

“You have time to think about it,” David added.

 

The teen didn’t want to keep talking about it. The whole thing had given her a giant headache and she just wanted to forget that it ever happened.

 

 

“My ankle really hurts,” she said.

“I’ll go get your medication,” Mary replied, a little surprised at Emma admitting to that. She suspected that it was to just change the subject, but also knew it probably did hurt, given the fall.

David watched his wife disappear into the kitchen. “You said it was doing better this morning.”

“It was, but I tripped over my crutches at the diner.”

He sighed, looking over at the metal things in the corner. “I wish I could just carry you everywhere.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Don’t get any ideas.”

“I’m just not sure how you walk on them.”

“It’s not that bad. Though, I definitely won’t miss them when they’re gone.”

 

Mary returned a moment later with the pills and a glass of water. Emma welcomingly took them, hoping they would ease the pain of not only her ankle, but her heart.

* * *

_Ingrid opened the door to her sister’s house and found her little niece sitting in the middle of the floor, watching some T.V._

_“Hi, Emma!” she said, trying to sound as happy as she could._

_“Hi Auntie Ingrid,” the child smiled, standing up to hug her._

_“Where’s your mommy?” Emma shrugged. “Daddy?” Another shrug. The woman sighed. “They left you alone.”_

_“I’m not ‘posed to tell anyone.”_

_“It’ll stay our little secret, don’t worry,” Ingrid assured her. “Why don’t we go get some ice cream?”_

_“Okay!” The two headed to the door when it opened, Helga stumbling in. Ingrid winced, her younger sister had clearly been drinking and from the arrangement of her clothes, she suspected just where she had been._

_“Helga,” she said, gently. “Hello.”_

_“Ingrid. I just stepped out for a smoke,” the blonde lied. She patted her daughter’s head. “You told her that, right, Em?”_

_“Uh huh,” Emma lied, biting her lip._

_“Emma, can you go in the kitchen? I’ll be right there.” Ingrid watched her niece leave the room. What she didn’t know, was that little girl stayed in the doorway, out of sight. “You left her alone, again?”_

_“For five minutes,” was Helga’s slurred response._

_“I know that’s not true. She’s 4, Helga! I thought you and Ed moved here to change.”_

_“You know exactly why we moved here,” the woman mumbled._

_“If you can’t take care of Emma, why is she still here?”_

_“She’s my daughter, plus, Safe Haven laws…they have to be like a newborn or something without it being considered abandonment.”_

_Ingrid let out a frustrated sigh. “She’s a little girl, she deserves better.”_

_“And what are you gonna do?” Helga sneered. “Call CPS? If you were, you’d have done it by now!”_

_“She deserves more than this!”_

_“Then you give it to her! You come around here acting all high and mighty, you take her.”_

_Ingrid sighed. “You know that I can’t.”_

_“And why’s that Miss Perfect?”_

_“I never claimed to be perfect, I just know I’m not a good option for her either. Just clean up your act!” Helga simply shook her head as she searched her pockets for cigarettes. She located them and lit up. “You can’t smoke in the house; you’re going to give her asthma or lung cancer.”_

_“Oh my God, shut up,” Helga’s voice was muffled from around the cigarette. “Just go home!”_

_“I promised Emma I’d take her for ice cream.”_

_“She doesn’t need ice cream, plus she was being a brat all day. I’m not going to reward that.”_

* * *

Emma sat up in bed, shaking the dream/memory from her mind. That hadn’t been something she had thought about in quite some time. She had to have cared, if she said all of that.

 

Emma thought of the bruises that she used to get from her parents. Some were discreet, others, more obvious. Her teacher at school had been suspicious, but of course she had been conditioned to lie. The only reason Ed had ever been caught, was when pictures had been found on the internet. The sexual abuse she could understand no one knowing about. While Helga knew, it wasn’t as if Ed or the guys did it anywhere but their house. And Ingrid was never around for that.

 

Surely she saw the bruises, didn’t she? Did she really buy Helga and Ed’s excuses that she was just a clumsy kid? It was half-true, sometimes she got hurt all on her own.

 

Her green eyes glanced over to her alarm clock. 6:45. David had to work the morning shift, he’d be up by now. Carefully, she got out of bed and got ready, putting on her own boot. She had to talk to him about this, not her mom. She didn’t want to make her upset. The teen had noticed the jealous look about her and she’d rather keep Mary’s eyes the only thing that was green about her.

 

Emma sent a quick text to Ingrid, Mary had given her the business card, using an app with a free number. Her and Lily had used it to prank text Bae once and she never deleted it. The last thing the blonde wanted was this woman having her real number.

 

**Emma: It’s Emma, are you awake?**

Ingrid’s response came almost scarily right away.

 

**Ingrid: Yes.**

**Emma: Could you meet me at the sheriff’s station in 20 minutes?**

**Ingrid: Of course.**

 

David was just finishing up with his coffee when Emma came down the stairs.

 

“Morning Princess,” he said, kissing her head. “Shouldn’t you be relaxing?”

“Can I come to work with you?” Emma asked.

“Well, I guess, if you relax. But you’ll probably be bored.”

“I’ll call Mom when I’m done, I just have to meet someone there.”

“Meet…” he trailed off as it connected. “We should tell your mother.”

“Please, Dad. I just want to get this over with. I’ll tell her when it’s done. Plus, you’ll be there.”

David sighed, looking down at her pouting lips and puppy dog eyes. “Princess…”

“Daddy.”

 

And that was all that it took. He knew Emma knew that he couldn’t resist that. He wrote a note for Mary for when she woke up, so she wouldn’t worry and included the bit about Ingrid. His wife wouldn’t be sleeping for much longer anyway.

 

Once they reached the station, David set Emma up in his new office, which they had just finished building. As sheriff, it gave him some more privacy.

 

“Do you want me to stay in the room?” He asked as he propped her foot up.

“Um, no. Could you stand outside?”

He smiled and kissed her nose. “Of course I can, baby girl.”

“You know this doesn’t change how I feel about you and Mom, right?”

“Of course.”

“Because Mom looked really jealous yesterday.”

David sighed yet again. “I think she just wishes that she could’ve been the one there for you when you were that little and not Ingrid, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not grateful you had her. You deserved to have good things.”

 

Emma slowly nodded and then heard high heels clicking on the floor of the station.

  
“Ingrid,” she guessed.

 

But to her surprise, her mom was the one that entered the office.

 

“Mom…” Emma began.

“I wanted to be here for you, for this,” Mary told her, kissing the top of her head.

At that moment, Ingrid also walked in. She looked over at David, who instantly placed a protective hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “You must be the sheriff, Mr. Nolan.”

“Yes,” he glared at her. “We’ll be outside, where we can hear anything and everything.” He kissed Emma’s temple and took his wife’s hand. She was staring at Ingrid, with a mix of jealousy and protectiveness. He drew a deep breath before leading her out of the room.

 

Emma gestured to the seat in front of David’s desk and Ingrid sat, taking her in.

 

“I just can’t get over how grown up you are,” she murmured.

“Nine years does that.”

“I guess,” Ingrid lightly smiled. “How’d you hurt your ankle?”

“Fell off a counter.”

“Ouch.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“I hated seeing you hurt when you were little, you just looked so small and vulnerable. Like the time you had to get those stitches on your leg.”

 

Emma instinctively placed her hand on her thigh. There was still a small scar from that, though you’d really have to look to see it. It was from when Ed pushed her forward to get out of the car and she ended up scraping it against the gravel driveway. Ingrid had been there, though she hadn’t witnessed the incident.

 

“Do you know how that happened?” Emma asked.

“You fell out of the car.”

“That’s what Ed told me to say,” she replied, softly.

Pain filled Ingrid’s blue eyes. “I should have known.”

“Did you?”

“Did I…”

“Know that he was…” Emma pursed her lips, it was still hard to say out loud. “Touching me?”

Ingrid shook her head, sitting up straight. “Of course not, I would’ve called CPS so fast. I was disgusted when I found out what he had done, he is a sick bastard.”

The teen studied her face and could tell she was being honest. “So, you said you wanted to explain something.”

“Yes, Emma, you have to know…I may have been older than your mother, but I was not in any better place,” Ingrid explained. “I was battling my own demons and I knew going from them to me would not have been a good thing. I wouldn’t even have qualified.”

“Did you try?”

Ingrid frowned. “No,” she admitted. “But I figured maybe you could find your better chance.”

“What about when Helga died? You didn’t want to talk to me?”

“I did, really. But they said it’d be too confusing. They said unless I was going to take you, I couldn’t be in your life.” Emma simply nodded. “And it looks like it worked out great, you have a family.”

“I do,” the blonde couldn’t see her parents, but knew they were listening. “They’re amazing people, sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve them.”

“You always deserved the best, Emma,” Ingrid whispered.

 

The two sat in silence for a moment.

 

“Did you know?” Emma asked.

“I told you, I…”

“Not that…Ed didn’t just touch me there. Both he and your sister, they would hit me.” Hit was an understatement. “Most of those bruises, black and blues…were from them. Did you know?”

 

More silence. Just as Ingrid’s face had assured the girl that she hadn’t known about the sexual abuse, it gave away the terrible truth that was before her.

 

Emma’s breath caught. “O…oh.”

“Emma, you have to understand…” Ingrid grabbed her hand, but the teen pulled away. “My sister, she was sick. Before your father, she was always in and out of rehabilitation centers. She suffered from PTSD, she went through what you did as a child, we both did.”

 

That hit Emma like a ton of bricks. She had never known that.

 

“Then why didn’t she do anything?” The teen asked, trying to keep the venom from her voice. “Why didn’t you?”

“Your mother could never get better, she turned to alcohol, drugs, sex…” The woman trailed off. “She didn’t know how to be a good mother. Our parents weren’t the best. I guess she just didn’t know how to make sure the cycle didn’t repeat. It doesn’t make it okay, but she really was in over her head. And well, sweetie, it’s not like you were planned…”

“I didn’t ask to be born!” Emma shot back, not being able to control her anger. “She should’ve …should’ve gotten an…” The word couldn’t even leave her mouth.

Ingrid bit her lip. “I know, I know. It’s not an excuse. She shouldn’t have hurt you like that or let Ed do it. I just…I saw how much she struggled. I knew what she went through, at the time…I mean we were hit as kids so…”

“So that made it okay?” Tears clouded her green eyes and her voice broke. “I was just a little kid. Sometimes all I had to do was breathe and that’d be enough.”

“I know, it was wrong. And I am so sorry…”

“Not sorry enough to do something about it then. You were there, you saw it go on, you were just as bad as them!”

 

Outside the door, Mary had tears streaming down her face and David’s head was buried in his hands, his whole body, tense. This whole thing had been a big mistake. He knew he should’ve forbid Emma from seeing her. The fact that his daughter thought she should’ve been aborted broke his heart, Mary’s as well. Both just couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that this woman knew about the physical abuse and yet did nothing about it. That in itself was a crime, not that David could arrest her for it. Too much time had passed. Mary so badly wanted to run in there and hug her daughter, but could tell that she was doing a good job on her own and wanted her to be able to get out everything she needed to.

 

“I was the child,” Emma continued, her voice shaky, along with her breath. “I was at the mercy of adults. And you did nothing.”

“I’m sorry,” Ingrid whispered, tears in her own eyes.

“And I’m supposed to say okay?”

“No, you don’t…you don’t have to say anything. This isn’t how I wanted this to go.”

“Well you said you wanted to explain and you did…” Emma glanced back at the door. “This is over.”

 

Her parents were practically pushing each other out of the way so they could get inside the office. Mary saw her daughter’s face and ran to her, gently helping her up and cupping her face, pressing a kiss to her forehead. David turned to Ingrid, his arms folded.

 

“You are not to contact my daughter again,” he said, his voice filled with authority. “And if you do, I will not hesitate to arrest you for harassment.”

Ingrid looked from him to his wife, who was trying to comfort her daughter, though Emma was just standing in the hug. “Alright. I’m leaving tomorrow, anyway.” She stood up and walked out of the room.

David rushed to his daughter’s side, stroking her hair. “Oh my baby…” he muttered.

“I wanna go home,” she whispered.

“Emma…”

“Please.” She looked up at her mother. “Mama.”

Mary sighed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Okay, baby.”

“I’ll call Graham and…”

“Daddy, no. I’ll be fine.”

“Emma…”

 

She shook her head and he glanced over at Mary. Given what she had just been through, she needed her mom. He knew that she would need him too, later. The best thing to do would be to just give her what she wanted. Pushing her would probably just make her close up even more.

 

“Alright, but I’m going to be home early, though,” he kissed her forehead. “I love you, Princess.”

“I love you too.” She hugged him tightly for a minute before following Mary out the door.

* * *

Once at the house, Mary prepared for Emma to cling to her, but to her surprise, she limped past her and went up the stairs. The brunette went to follow, but the door shut before she could even get up there. Confused, Mary knocked on it.

 

“Emma?”

A muffled voice returned her request. “Go away!”

 

The walls, Emma’s walls. They were shooting back up. All because of that woman.

 

“No, I am not going to let this happen,” she muttered to herself, walking in.  Emma’s face was buried in her pillow, her ankle completely unsupported. “I can’t, sweets. We don’t have to talk about Ingrid, but I’m not leaving you alone when you are this upset.” Mary made her way to the bed and sat down, rubbing small circles on her daughter’s back. Emma didn’t pull away, but didn’t look up either. “Oh my baby girl, my sweet baby girl,” she whispered.

The blonde sniffled, but she didn’t look up. “It hurts.”

“I know, sweets, I know. She was so wrong for what she did.”

“This is all my fault.”

“No, no, no, it’s not your fault. She was the adult; you are the child. She was supposed to say something.”

“I never should’ve gone there! It didn’t do anything!”

 

Mary continued to rub her back, making shhing noises. She soon realized her daughter was having trouble breathing. She grabbed her inhaler and had her take a few puffs from it, which required her lifting her head up.

 

“That’s a good girl, copy my breathing,” Mary showed her and Emma slowly copied. The brunette gave her a small smile. “There we go. See, nice and easy, you’re okay. You’re safe.” She went to get up to put the inhaler away when hands grabbed a hold of hers.

“Mommy,” Emma whined.

“Mommy’s right here, baby. I’ve just got to put this away.” Keeping one hand on her daughter, she slid it into the nightstand before laying back down beside her. Emma curled up into her side and Mary stroked her hair. “I’m not going anywhere.” She slowly adjusted her so her ankle was resting. Emma still clung to her and buried her head deeper in her shoulder. Thankfully, Emma had an appointment with Archie later that week. She had a feeling all this that was brought up wasn’t going to go away easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I didn’t think I’d finish this next chapter so soon, haha. I just really got into writing it and couldn’t stop. As always, thank you guys for the reviews and if there’s anything you want to see, let me know!


	27. Top 10 Mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Row98 said they missed seeing Bae around, so he’s in this chapter, as always trying to keep our girl on the straight and narrow. As always, if there’s stuff you guys want to see, let me know!

Mary moved around the kitchen, fixing dinner a few nights later. David was nearby making a salad. Despite this, neither of them were focused on the meal they were preparing, their minds were on their daughter. Emma had been clingy ever since the incident with Ingrid, not that either of them minded. To them, she could be attached to their side for months, so long as she felt safe. But Archie had encouraged Emma to hang out with her friends. He said while it was good she felt safe with her parents, she should try to continue to live her life as normal as possible since she had made so much progress. Emma had agreed and was at Lily’s, Baelfire would be there as well. The three were just going to play video games since the blonde still had to be resting.

 

Mary and David were happy that she was out, having fun, but they still worried. Emma had been having more nightmares than usual lately and they didn’t want her walls to go back up. Archie was right, she had made a lot of progress. She trusted them and opened up to them. They didn’t care if she needed them to lean on for the rest of her life, they would never leave her. They knew Emma knew this, it was just a matter of whether or not her condition allowed her to do so. On top of that, Mary didn’t want to come across as too clingy. The most important thing was for their kid to feel comfortable. Even if it was hard for them to be apart from her when she was like that, they had to allow it so she didn’t have walls up with others.

 

As David put the carrots in the salad, he heard the front door open and shut, followed by the noises of crutches coming across the hardwood floors. Relief filled his body, feeling a lot better that now she was home.

 

“Hey Princess,” he called out.

 

There was no response, but the noise got closer and closer. Mary handed him the salad dressing and glanced up as her daughter walked in. Before she could control it, a gasp escaped her lips. David looked up and his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

 

“Oh baby,” Mary whispered. “What did you do?”

 

**_Two Hours Earlier_ **

Emma sat on the floor of Lily’s living room, her foot propped up. Bae and Lily were on either side of her as they played Mario Kart. The blonde wasn’t doing as well as she could’ve, because her mind was racing. Archie thought this would help and it was, a little. But her brain kept going back to what Ingrid had told her. Helga, her birth mother, had PTSD, just as she did. She had been abused in a similar fashion, just as she had.

 

She didn’t want to be like her biological mother. That woman was supposed to protect her, to take care of her and she didn’t. It didn’t matter that she suffered as well. Emma would understand if she as well had just been a victim, but she had abused her too. She would mock her for what she went through. Day in and day out, she taught the young girl that a mother doesn’t protect you, that she wasn’t someone you could turn to.

 

Of course, that was wrong. Mary proved her wrong. She was everything Emma had dreamed of when she was a child and more. Was she perfect? No. But she tried. All the mistakes she made, were because she truly loved Emma. Same with David. The two constantly said blood didn’t mean anything. And despite not being biologically related, Emma had blonde hair like him and green eyes that matched Mary’s.

 

But the blonde hair was also something she shared with Helga. And from her memories, it was the exact same shade and texture. David’s was a darker blonde, too, and straight. Growing up, despite how bad people were, people did obsess over her hair. It was blonde and very curly; people took it as an excuse that they could play with it. She had one foster mother that would run her hands through it, to a point that creeped the girl out. She was the butt of constant blonde jokes from her foster brothers. All of that, didn’t bother her. What did, is that it was yet another tie to her biological mother.

 

She didn’t want to be like her, in any way shape or form. She couldn’t change the PTSD, though she could change the future. The teenager vowed in her mind if she had kids, she wouldn’t let them be hurt like she had been. But that wasn’t enough, not now.

 

The game was ending (Lily had won), so Emma took the time to lift up a block of her curly hair, staring at it. She couldn’t change the inside, but she could change the outside.

 

“I want to dye my hair.”

Bae looked over at her. “What?”

“I don’t want to be a blonde anymore.” She spoke with an air of confusion to her voice, as if she was still unsure if she really wanted this.

“Why not?”

“Because…” Her friends knew of her past and what she was going through. Yet, she didn’t want to explain this to them, she suddenly felt embarrassed for bringing it up. “I just want a change. I’m adopted now, pretty much a new person, maybe it’s time for a new look.”

Lily smiled, but Bae looked suspicious. “What color were you thinking?” she asked.

“Brown, dark brown. Almost black.”

 

_Same shade as Mama’s. I’m her daughter, not Helga’s. I need to look like her. I have to look like her. I am not that other woman._

“I have that,” Lily piped up.

Bae looked at her, confused. “Why?”

“I was going to dye my hair darker to match Ruby’s for Halloween but changed my mind at the last minute. I still have the box in my bathroom.” She looked over at her best friend. “You sure you want this?”

Emma wasn’t, but she quickly nodded. “Yes.”

“Alright, let me go find it and then we can do it in my mom’s bathroom, it’s bigger.”

“Is she going to mind?”

“I’ll clean it up before she gets home.”

 

The girl scampered up the stairs and Bae turned to Emma.

 

“Don’t do it,” he said.

“Why not?”

“It’s not going to change anything.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Emma,” he gave her a knowing look. “I get it, what it’s like to look like someone you don’t like.”

Emma bit her lip, taking in his features. Now that she had met Mr. Gold, she realized that outside his eyes, they didn’t look a thing alike. “Oh?”

“I have my mom’s hair along with other things. I tried to straighten it once, to look more like my dad.” The blonde tried to picture her fellow curly haired friend with straight hair, but came up empty. “I ended up burning my forehead.”

“Ouch,” Emma replied, stifling a giggle.

Bae smiled. “My dad asked why I did it and when I told him, he said even though I looked like Milah, I’m not her.”

Emma bit her lip, looking away. “This is different.”

“No, it’s not.”

“I’m more like my birth mother than you think,” she whispered. “I can’t help the other stuff, but I can this.”

“Emma…”

“Please, Bae.” She looked up at him, feeling vulnerable all over again. “I just need your support in this.” She had gone so long without friends; she couldn’t lose the ones she had. And while she knew Lily and Ruby wouldn’t abandon her over it, she felt a need to cling onto Baelfire. He was the only one who understood what she had lived with. Their stories were not exactly the same. No matter what, he always had his loving father, who wasn’t aware to what his son was going through and once he was, he did all he could to help him get over it. Still, he had lost his mother at a young age and she had been abusive. He spent years getting over the damage.

 

Baelfire met her eyes and knew he should push, he knew he should talk to her more about how she was beautiful and how she shouldn’t shut out who she really was, that all the pain made her the Emma she was. But he couldn’t, he knew it wouldn’t work. She needed to do this, she needed to learn from it. No one could’ve stopped him when he was hell bent on not looking like Milah.

 

“I think you’ll look pretty with dark hair,” he finally said.

 

Blush spread across her cheeks, but she also gave him a small smile.

 

“Thanks,” she whispered.

Lily came back down the stairs holding a box. “Found it. Bae, you sticking around for this transformation?”

“Yeah, better make sure you don’t ruin her hair with those chemicals.”

“Hey, I’m the one that helped Ruby with her red highlights.”

“Exactly, highlights, not her whole head.”

Lily rolled her eyes and turned to her other friend. “Can you manage the stairs, Em?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah.”

 

Baelfire helped her up onto her crutches and carefully lead her up the stairs and into Mal and Marvin’s bathroom. Lily made sure her friend’s ankle was propped up and double checked that the color on the box was what she wanted. Emma confirmed, it was almost the exact shade as Mary’s. Before she knew it, the foul smell had filled the entire bathroom.

* * *

Emma had made a lot of mistakes in her life. She had gotten into trouble, disrespected her parents, agreed to talk to Ingrid.

 

But this moment, made the top 10 in her mind.

 

Her skin tone was not made for Mary’s hair color, it just wasn’t. It wasn’t the dye’s fault; it would’ve probably looked good on Lily or even Bae. But on her, it just looked so awkward. It was clearly obvious that it was dyed and not in a good way. Lily had done a great job of making sure no blonde could be seen, but that didn’t help matters.

 

The room was silent after Bae had removed the towel from her head. No one wanted to say anything. Emma didn’t want to make Lily feel bad and neither of her friends wanted to hurt her feelings.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Emma finally said to her friend.

Lily lightly smiled. “It’s not so bad. Maybe we could add highlights to make it lighter.”

“True,” Bae added. “We could run to the pharmacy.”

“No, no,” Emma let out a sigh.  “I can probably re-dye it later.”

“You’ll have to bleach it, that’s not going to be smart given all the chemicals in your hair,” Lily told her.

“I guess I’ll just have to live with it.”

 

At that moment, the door to the bathroom opened and Mal walked in.

 

“What is that smell…” she trailed off when she saw Emma’s hair and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, wow.”

“Thanks Mom, way to boost her confidence,” Lily said with a slight eye roll.

Mal gave her daughter a Look. “Not what I meant. You always look pretty Emma, blonde just suits you better.”

“I know that…now,” Emma mumbled in response.

“Does your mom know you were doing this?” The silence said it all. “Alright, I’m going to give you two a ride home.”

“I can help Lily clean up,” the teen offered.

“No, it’s fine, I can handle it.”

Emma sighed and hugged her friend. “Thanks.”

“Anytime. If you change your mind about the highlights, just let me know.”

 

Bae hugged his friend goodbye as well and helped Emma back down to Mal’s car. Once they were inside, she decided to speak up.

 

“Don’t be mad at Lily, it was my idea.”

Mal smiled. “Don’t worry, she’s not in trouble. She did the same thing with Ruby, I swear that girl is going to end up with a cosmetology degree or something.”

“If she doesn’t major in sarcasm,” Bae added.

Mal chuckled. “I’d be careful Bae or she’ll have you with a mohawk.”

“I think my dad would kill her.”

 

Emma’s house was first. She thanked Mal and gave Bae a quick hug. He offered to help her inside, but she insisted she’d be fine. She managed to balance her bag and open the door, her crutches moving across the floor. Just as she was debating heading straight for her room, she could hear David’s voice.

 

“Hey Princess.”

 

_They’re either going to ground me for life or baby the hell out of me for this. Only one way to find out._

She made her way into the kitchen where both her parents were fixing dinner. Mary looked up first, a smile on her face. That slowly faded and Emma winced as a gasp escaped her mother’s lips. David looked up as well and his blue orbs went wide.

 

“Oh baby,” her mother whispered. “What did you do?”

 

_Latter, always the latter._

“I um, dyed my hair.” Playing dumb seemed to be the only option at this point.

“Clearly but…why?” Mary stepped forward, picking up one of her daughter’s now, dark curls. “Your blonde hair was so pretty.”

“Gee, thanks,” Emma tried her best to sound offended. She wasn’t, her mother was right.

“Of course you’re still beautiful, you’ll always be beautiful. I just…I don’t understand why you would do that?”

 

Emma shrugged her shoulders up and down. Her parents exchanged a Look. While their baby girl was still beautiful, both could tell that this hair color did not suit her, at all. And they could totally see that Emma knew this too.

 

“Who did this?” David finally found his words.

“Lily.”

He shut his eyes, shaking his head. “Of course.”

“It’s not her fault, it was my idea,” she told him.

“What did she use?” Mary asked.

“Just this box dye. I don’t remember the type.”

 

Mary continued to fiddle with her daughter’s hair, trying to be careful with her words. The last thing she wanted, was to make her feel bad. But before she could even say anything else, Emma did.

 

“I already ate,” she lied. “I’m just gonna go lie down. The ankle’s fine, by the way.”

 

David watched his daughter crutch out of the room quickly before he could offer to carry her. Mary turned to him, gripping the counter.

 

“Why would she do a thing like that?” she whispered.

“It’s almost the exact same shade as yours,” David pointed out.

The brunette sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “So she wants to look like me?”

“Can’t say I blame her, you’re very beautiful.”

“This is serious, David. Our daughter could’ve damaged her hair and I don’t get why. She’s never said anything about wanting to do this before.”

“She is fourteen, this is something teens do, right? Experiment with their looks?”

She bit her lip. “I guess, I just worry that it’s more. When she wanted to wear makeup, she came to me. So why not when it came to her hair?”

“I don’t know.” David was quiet for a minute. “She’s not in trouble for this, right?”

“Of course not, I mean, we need to tell her to let us know before she does this next time, I’d rather a professional do it. But I’m not mad, just confused.”

 

The two ate dinner, trying to stay positive and talk about other things. Once they were done and Mary began cleaning up, David made some hot chocolate and went upstairs. Emma lay on her bed, her ankle unsupported. He quickly grabbed a pillow and propped it up, causing an eye roll from her.

 

“You need to rest it,” he told her, ignoring her glare as he sat on the bed. Though, her attitude improved once the warm mug was placed into her hand.

“Am I in trouble?” She asked. “For doing this?”

“No, but why didn’t you ask us first? Your mom could’ve had a professional do it.”

“It was sort of a spur of the moment decision.”

“And what lead you to that?”

Emma gave him a Look. “I didn’t realize you were Dr. Hopper.”

It was David’s turn to roll his eyes. “I may not be your therapist, but I am your father. I just want to understand.”

“I just wanted to do it, is that so hard to believe?”

“I guess not,” he could tell by her face that there was more. “You know, you’re always beautiful. But this…”

She cut him off. “It was a mistake, clearly. But it’ll go back to normal eventually.”

He took her in for a minute, she just looked so different like this. He watched as she sipped her cocoa, curling up closer against the pillows. Something was wrong, but she wasn’t telling him. “What is going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Something, Em. Please, I’m your father, talk to me.”

“Daddy, I’m fine. Outside ruining my hair, nothing is wrong, I promise.”

 

She couldn’t tell him; she knew what he would say and she really didn’t want to hear it.

 

“I can tell that something’s wrong.”

“You mean outside the fact that I can’t walk properly?”

“It’s not that.”

“Seriously, Daddy. That’s it. My ankle hurts and my hair makes me look like a zombie.”

 

David sighed. What choice did he have? He could push and push, but that could just cause her walls to go up even more.

 

“For the record, you don’t look like a zombie,” he finally said, a light smile on his lips.

“It’s terrible,” she replied, sipping her drink again.

“Your mom said she’ll talk to her hair dresser, but they probably won’t want to bleach your hair so soon after you put chemicals in it.”

“Hats are the best invention ever.”

He chuckled, kissing her forehead. “No matter what, you’ll always be beautiful.”

Emma rolled her eyes, but smiled a bit. “You’re such a dad.”

“Yeah, yours. But I never say stuff I don’t mean.”

* * *

Emma came down the stairs one week later, sans crutches. Whale had finally told her that she would be fine without them, though she still had to keep the brace on. As of right now, he didn’t think she’d need surgery for at least a few more months, so long as she did nothing to aggravate it. David was still paranoid about it and practically followed her everywhere around the house.

 

None of them mentioned the state of her hair, outside Mary letting her know when they could fix it. Though, she did manage to slip in that of course her daughter was beautiful no matter what. Emma still refused to tell them why she had done it, though she had told Archie in one of their sessions. He was trying to work with her on accepting her past, but it wasn’t easy.

 

To push her mind off it, she was focusing on cross country tryouts. Whale still said her ankle wasn’t strong enough, but she felt it was. Of course, she just pretended to pout over it when her parents insisted she’d listen and eventually said she wouldn’t go. That day, was the day, though and she would, she just had to figure a plan.

 

“Do you have meetings after school?” She asked Mary as they got ready to go.

“No, why?”

“Just curious.”

 

If Mary didn’t have meetings, it meant she’d want to give Emma a ride home. She’d say that something came up, like that Ruby and Lily wanted to do something. To make it look authentic, she could just go home with Lily and have her mom pick her up from there. It was almost like the lie fairies were giving her a present.

 

She should’ve known it wasn’t going to be that easy.

 

Halfway through the day, Mary got an e-mail from the high school. Apparently, it was down to her and one other candidate for the job and they wanted her to come for one final interview. They were arranging with her school to get her a sub so she could leave early. On her lunch break, she called David, just after she had gotten her text from Emma.

 

“Hey darling,” he said. “Everything okay with Emma?”

“Yes, she’s fine, I’m fine. But I got called in for a second interview.”

The brunette could almost see her husband’s smile. “That’s so amazing, congratulations.”

“Thanks, but I have to be downtown by 1:30. They’re getting me a sub, but would you be able to pick up Emma from Lily’s? She going to do homework with her and Ruby for about an hour after school.”

“Of course. Do you need me to start dinner?”

“I’ll just bring home a pizza.”

“Don’t trust my abilities?” He teased.

“I love you David, but I’m not getting food poisoning again.”

“One time, one time.”

She giggled. “I better go make a plan for my sub. Love you.”

“I love you too. You’ll do amazing.”

 

Later on, Emma stood in the locker room with Lily, both of them now changed into their old track uniforms. Try outs would be starting any minute.

 

“Don’t you need your brace?” Lily asked as she noticed the girl’s bare ankle.

“Coach would never let me try out with it. I’ll be fine.”

 

The girl gave her a suspicious glance but soon, there was a knock on the locker room door.

  
“It’s time ladies,” Coach’s voice could be heard.

“Let’s do this,” Emma said with a smile.

 

**_Meanwhile_ **

David headed out of the station, done for the day. He still had quite some time before he had to pick up Emma from Lily’s, so he figured he’d run some errands for Mary. As he was approaching the center, he spotted a familiar flicker of red and realized it was Ruby’s highlights. She was standing a few feet away, looking at a dress in the window of Ashley’s shop.

 

“Hey Ruby,” he said.

She turned to him and smiled. “Hi Mr. Nolan.”

“I thought you’d be over at Lily’s.”

“No, it’s cross country tryouts, so she’s there.”

 

David was confused for a minute. Emma said she’d be at Lily’s, but if Lily wasn’t home there would be no reason for her to be there, which meant…

 

“Damn it,” he muttered to himself.

“I’m sorry?” Ruby asked, looking perplexed, completely forgetting that Emma wasn’t supposed to be there.

“No, not you,” he said. “Have a good rest of your day.”

 

And with that, he headed back to the station to grab his truck before speeding to the school. He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten the date, it had been engraved in his head for so long in case Emma tried to pull anything. But between Ingrid and the hair dye incident, he had been a tad preoccupied.

 

He made it to the field just as one of the other girls was finishing up her try out. Nearby, he could spot a lineup of other students, Emma being third. She was stretching her good ankle and he couldn’t help but notice the brace missing from her injured one. He did his best to compose himself, screaming at her in front of all of her friends would just lead to embarrassment. He’d have to try another approach.

 

Emma noticed her father walking towards the field and immediately felt her heart begin to beat out of her chest.

 

“What is he doing here?” she whispered to Lily.

Lily looked and gulped. “I don’t know. But he doesn’t look too happy.”

 

At that moment, Emma got a text from Ruby.

**Emma, I am so sorry! I completely forgot that you lied to your dad, he saw me on Main Street and I told him that Lily was trying out. I think he connected the dots.**

The now-brunette shut her eyes and shoved her phone back into her gym bag. She expected her father to storm over and start yelling at her in front of everyone, but instead he walked up to the coach. The two had a brief conversation, causing the other man to look at Emma with a mixture of disappointment and confusion. Eventually, Coach walked over to them and pulled Emma aside.

 

“Emma, you’re not supposed to be here,” he said.

“My ankle’s fine, my dad’s just overreacting…” Emma started to say.

“Look, I understand you like running but you can’t be on the team.”

Her face fell. “But I didn’t even get to try out, I’m sure I’ll do great.”

“You are very talented Em, it’s why I recruited you in the first place, but your safety comes first. If you had fallen on the track today, you could’ve gotten seriously injured and I can’t have that happening.”

“But I…” She trailed off, letting out a frustrated sigh.

“Emma,” Coach looked at her sternly. “I’d say you’d have to run laps for talking back, but one, your ankle isn’t the best and two, I’m not your coach anymore. It’s nothing personal. See how your ankle is come the fall, the high school has a track team as well.”

 

Emma looked over at her father, who had his arms folded over his chest. Her eyes narrowed into a glare and a pout fell across her lips.

 

“Fine,” she mumbled.

 

Grabbing her bag, she hoisted it over her shoulder and walked away, right past her father and nowhere near in the direction of the truck. Her ankle was beginning to hurt from standing so long without the brace, but she wasn’t about to admit that. David followed behind her, having to walk a little fast to keep up.

 

“Emma,” he started. “Emma Ruth, where do you think you’re going?” When she didn’t respond, he grabbed a hold of her arm, only to have her pull away.

“I’m going home!” She exclaimed. “That’s what you wanted right?”

“Do not raise your voice at me young lady.” He pointed a finger in the direction of the truck. “Get in, now.” She stood there, her arms folded.

“I’m walking home.”

“Oh no you’re not. Get in the truck.”

“I don’t want to be around you right now.”

“I don’t really care. Now, I think you’ve embarrassed yourself enough for today, but if you’d like to add to it, continue. I’m sure your friends would love to see you being carried over my shoulder.”

 

The two had a stare down for a moment. Emma wondered if her father actually would and David himself wasn’t so sure if he’d be willing to humiliate his daughter like that, no matter how upset he was. But, he kept a good front and stared down into her green eyes. Emma didn’t want to back down but she broke the showdown to look back down the hill at the track and field. Coach had gotten tryouts to resume, but there were a few girls (Lily included), who were watching them. The risk was not worth the reward at this point.

 

Without a word, she stormed to the truck (regretting every moment of it, as her ankle hurt) and got in, slamming the door shut. David counted back from ten, trying to calm down. He didn’t want to yell at her, he wanted to discuss this calmly. But from his daughter’s attitude, he knew that would not be easy.

 

He got into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the parking lot, where there was silence for a few minutes as he debated how to start the conversation. Before he could, though, Emma spoke.

 

“How could you do that to me?”

“How could I do what, Emma? Tell your coach that Whale had forbade you from trying out.”

“My ankle is fine!”

“No, it’s not. You’re going to need surgery within the next couple of months to correct it, that’s not fine. And if you had tried out today, you could’ve made it ten times worse. At least with surgery and P.T, you may be able to do track and cross country again. But putting yourself in these situations could make it impossible,” his voice was calm, yet fatherly.

“You don’t know that!” She exploded.

“Voice, Emma. And you’re right, maybe I don’t. But Whale does. He spent more years than you’ve been alive studying this stuff,” David continued, his tone catching some edge to it.  “He knows what’s best.”

“I know my body.”

“It may not hurt right now, but it’s not ready.”

“Regardless, you had no right to just go talk to my coach about it!”

“I am your father; I have every right to explain why my child can’t do something.”

“It’s not your decision!”

“It is. Everything you do, I get a say in. You’re the child, I’m the parent.”

 

 _I sound like my mother. When the hell did this happen?_ He thought to himself.

 

Emma rolled her eyes. “This is so ridiculous.”

“I am not going to allow you to put yourself in danger like that. You could’ve been seriously hurt.”

“You don’t know that,” she replied with a scoff and another eye roll, her arms crossing over her chest.

“Actually Emma, I do! You’re not superwoman!” He couldn’t be calm anymore. She had such disregard for her safety and for how she was talking to him at that moment. “You are not going to do track, cross country or any sport until Whale clears it and hell, if you keep up this attitude, it won’t be until your mother and I say so.”

“You’re being completely unfair! You can’t be this overprotective!”

“Stop shouting at me, first of all. Second, this isn’t me being overprotective Emma, this is me keeping you safe.”

“Just because you’re the town sheriff, doesn’t mean that you know what’s best!”

“You’re right, it’s because I’m your father. And what I say, goes.”

 

_Oh my God, my mother would be laughing her ass off at me right now. Replace father with mother and this is her. All her. She was so right._

“Ugh! I am so over this conversation.” By then, they had pulled into the driveway, so Emma simply flung open the door and stormed inside.

David quickly followed. “This is not over, Emma! We need to talk about this!”

“We already did! You’re being completely unfair!”

“This discussion won’t be over until you see that what you did was wrong and you apologize for your actions.”

“Then you’re looking at us having it until one of us drops dead, because what I did wasn’t wrong and I’m not going to apologize!”

“What is going on?”

 

The two spun around to see Mary standing in the kitchen doorway, her eyebrow raised. Before Emma could speak, David held up his hand, predicting what his daughter was going to do.

 

“I thought you had that interview,” he said.

“I did, but it went faster than I thought.” Mary looked between the two of them. “Now I repeat, what is going on? Why are you two shouting at each other?”

“Mama, Dad is overreacting,” Emma said, ignoring her father’s Look. “And he’s being completely unfair.”

“No, I’m not. Our daughter decided that despite Dr. Whale’s _orders_ ,” he put emphasis on the word to show that it was not a request. “She would try out for cross country.”

Mary’s eyes widened and she turned to her daughter. “Emma!”

“Luckily I got there before she could.”

“Well…Dad completely embarrassed me!” Emma argued. “Instead of talking to me about it, he went and told Coach, who I doubt will ever take me seriously ever again since I had my daddy,” she used air quotes around the last word. “running onto the field like I was a 5-year-old!”

“Emma, stop shouting,” Mary cut in, her voice stern. “You are still the child and you won’t speak to us this way.”

“But…” The teenager was cut off by her mother’s Look. It was the Look that could silence an entire battlefield.

“Your father was completely right to do what he did today,” Mary continued. “You were told by not only us but Dr. Whale himself not to go. You could’ve gotten seriously injured. You want to finish your 8th grade year on time? Because that’ll be hard to do if you have to get surgery and recover.”

Emma’s arms folded. “That wouldn’t have happened.”

“You don’t know that. You’re a very smart girl Emma, but you do not know everything,” Mary shook her head as her daughter mumbled something under her breath. “Alright, this isn’t working. You need some time to cool down and think about your actions.”

“My answer is going to be the same in 5 minutes, an hour, today, tomorrow and every day after that! I wasn’t wrong!”

“Well, until you’re ready to admit you put yourself into danger and apologize for not only disobeying us but your attitude, I guess you’re grounded,” David said. Mary nodded, showing, support for her husband.

“But that’s not fair!” Emma whined. “I have Lily’s sleepover tomorrow.”

“Guess you won’t be going unless you decide you want to apologize.”

Emma glared at her father for a minute and looked at her mother for support, only to find none. “You two are ganging up on me.”

“No, we’re not,” Mary said, her attitude suddenly calm. “We’re doing what’s best for you.”

“Now, go start your homework. I’ll be up in a minute to take your laptop,” David stated, his voice quiet.

“Whatever…David,” Emma enunciated the name while looking him straight in the eye before turning around and limping up the stairs, no longer being able to hide her pain.

 

David tipped his head back, feeling a mixture of emotions. He tried telling himself that she was mad, that she didn’t mean it. But now on top of his anger and disappointment, there was hurt. He hadn’t been David to Emma in nearly 8 months and he wasn’t entirely sure if he could go back to being that again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this was probably one of my longest chapters, didn’t plan on that. It was just easier to combine the two things because otherwise, the chapters would’ve been way too short for my liking on their own. This story all together is probably the longest I’ve ever written, both chapter and character wise. Lots went down in this! Emma’s a brunette, plus she and David are now fighting, ouch. One thing’s for sure, that girl is stubborn. In order to make up, she’s got a lot of apologizing to do, will she realize the error of her ways soon, now that is the million-dollar question. As always, thank you all for the awesome reviews and let me know what you want to see next for this family.


	28. Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Domestic violence and emotional abuse is mentioned in this chapter.
> 
> A request I got was to drag this arc out a little, where things aren’t easily fixed. I’m not sure exactly how long this will last, as this part of our story is drawing to a close and I plan on a sequel, which will have lots of angst. But I promise, this won’t exactly have an easy fix, though the fluff will come back, just maybe not as expected. As they say, you have to have the dark with the light.

Mary glanced at her husband’s face and felt her heartbreak. She remembered back to her nightmare from months before when Emma had called her “Mary”. Despite it just being a dream, it had hurt in her ways that she could never describe. To her, she was just mom, mama more often than not. She could see the look in David’s eyes whenever Emma called him “Daddy”, as if she had given him the best present in the world. Because for so long, neither were sure if they’d ever hear it.

 

“She’s just upset, David,” she whispered, taking his hand.

He simply nodded. “I should go talk to her.”

“Don’t. Look, what just happened right now…it’s not okay.”

“She’s been through a lot, Mary…”

Mary shook her head, silencing her husband. “We can’t keep doing this David. Every time she gets upset, we allow her to get away with it. Yes, she has been through some traumatic things but the way she just spoke to us was not okay. And her deliberately disobeying us, isn’t either.”

“So what? We just give her the silent treatment?”

“No, I mean we give her time. She’s still punished, but we can’t go out of our way to push her.”

“But she needs us!” David protested. “She thinks she doesn’t, but…”

“Emma will need us again, but right now, I don’t think this is her past. This is her being a stubborn 14-year-old girl. And we can’t baby her through it.” It pained her to say it, but it needed to be.

 

David sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, knowing she was right. It was their impulse to quickly just explain everything away and let it go back to normal. It couldn’t this time. She almost really hurt herself and had treated them as if they were just roommates rather than parents. In the past, he would’ve probably made hot chocolate and gotten her to talk about it, but that wouldn’t work this time. And the next part bothered him, but he didn’t want it to. She was never going to learn if they kept doing that.

 

“So, what do we do?” David asked.

“We’re obviously her parents and we’ll always be here, but we allow the angst, within reason,” Mary explained. “She has to be respectful, but we’re not going to come to her this time. She has to come to us and apologize.”

“And if she doesn’t?” The blonde asked, gnawing on his lip.

“She will, eventually. And when she does, we need to talk to her like the 14-year-old that she is. When she needs comforting, of course we’ll be there in any way she needs, but when it comes to this stuff, we need to be firmer. This is the second time she’s had a major explosion.”

David winced at the memory of her cursing them out, just shortly after she arrived. “Alright, alright.”

 

Mary found Emma’s gym bag, which she had discarded mid argument and found the brace, shaking her head.

 

“I can’t believe she took this off,” she said, disappointment dripping from her voice.

“Like I said, I caught her before she was able to try out but between now and then, she’s been doing a lot of stomping around,” David explained, feeling guilty for allowing it, though really there wasn’t much he could do.

“I’ll go have her put it back on.”

“I thought you said…”

“There are ways of handling these things.”

“Are we telling her what we’re doing?”

“No, but as I told her, she’s a smart girl. She’ll figure it out.”

 

Meanwhile, in Emma’s room, she was sitting at her desk, furiously texting Lily. She couldn’t believe that her parents had acted that way. They constantly said they trusted her, yet she couldn’t understand why they didn’t trust her with knowing her own body. Though, deep down, she wondered just how right they were. Her ankle was killing her.

 

The door to her room opened with no knock and she went to explode at David yet again, until she saw it was Mary. Her mother simply handed over the brace. Emma looked down at it and then back up at her.

 

“Emma, don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Mary’s voice took her off guard, it wasn’t one she was expecting. She knew she hadn’t exactly behaved the best down there, but she figured her mom would at least try to talk to her about it, she always did. Even if Emma didn’t want to, the offer was there.

 

Slowly, the teenager put on her brace, knowing she needed it. She stared up at her mother, not sure what to expect next.

 

“Where’s your laptop?” The woman asked. Emma pointed to her bed and watched it be tucked under Mary’s arm. Next, her phone was snatched from her fingers.

“Hey!”

“I’m going to rework this so you can only contact myself, your father and the emergency numbers.”

“But Mom…”

“We told you, you were grounded.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Sorry. Better now?”

Mary stared at her daughter in disbelief. “No Emma, it’s not “better now”. That apology had zero meaning behind it. Not to mention, I’m not the only one you have to apologize to!”

“Well if Dad had just listened to me…”

“Your father did nothing wrong,” Mary bit her lip, shaking her head. “I know we can be pretty protective, but there’s a reason for that. You are the most precious thing in the world to us.”

Emma’s face faltered a bit. “I know that.”

“Do you? Because you certainly don’t act like that. Your father had every right to talk to the coach.”

“But I’m…”

“You’re not fine!” Mary’s voice was now sharp and her daughter inched back a bit.

Emma didn’t like this, she didn’t like having her mother talk to her like this. It didn’t feel right. It was far different from her motherly tone. It was as if she was being put in her place and she hated it, to her she was a hundred percent right. The newly turned brunette tried to think of something to get her mom back on her side. “Look, this is still new for me.”

Mary let out a bitter laugh. “Is it, Emma? You’ve been here 8 months. That’s not what this is. You disobeyed us, you disobeyed Whale and then you screamed because you didn’t get your way.”

“Well how do you know Dad didn’t yell at me first?”

“Did he?”

Emma frowned. “No but…”

“But nothing! You don’t need an answer for everything!”

Emma studied Mary’s face for a minute. She couldn’t place the emotion, or emotions that fell across it. An uneasy feeling filled her and she couldn’t find it. “Well what do I have to say so all this over?”

“It’s not just what you say, it’s what you do. So, let me ask you something, are you sorry for disobeying us?”

“Well, no but…”

Mary cut her off again. “And are you sorry for yelling at your father and I?”

“No, but Mom…” She should’ve known better than to start talking again, she couldn’t even finish the sentence.

“Finally,” Mary’s green eyes matched her daughter’s. “Do you recognize that you were wrong?”

“I wasn’t wrong.”

 

Mary sighed. She knew what all of these answers would be, but a part of her had been hoping, praying that her daughter would find the right ones. Yet, she was almost glad in a way that it wasn’t. They had to come to her on her own.

 

“Then nothing you say can make all this over,” Mary turned on her heel to walk out but then stopped herself, going back to face Emma. “Just know this, we still love you, more than anything. You are still the most precious thing on this Earth to us. That’s why all this is happening, because I hope this is the last time I have to do this.”

 

She wasn’t talking about the grounding; she knew Emma would get grounded probably a million more times in her life. Emma knew that too; it was as if she too could feel the shift. Mary knew it wouldn’t be forever, but it was necessary.

 

Emma wanted to say she loved them too, but feared it would sound insincere. So, all she could do, was search for her book so she could start her homework. She heard the door shut behind her and bit down on her lip. She still thought she was right.

 

“Why can’t I just be right and things stay how they are?” She mumbled.

 

On the other hand, it angered her. This was who she was. Did they not fully understand that? She was driven and would do what she wanted. No one could stand in her way. For 13 years she had been alone and once she was in the system, outside having to move every few months, no one could tell her what to do. Yes, she had been there 8 months, but she didn’t feel like she had changed too much. Had she?  


Yes, she got clingier more, but that was because they were there to be. She definitely wasn’t going to be doing that anymore.  The thought killed her. Yet, right now a hug wasn’t going to fix anything. A hug wasn’t going to change her mind.

 

“This is who I am,” she told herself. “They’ll just have to get used to it.”

 

And yet, it wasn’t. This wasn’t Emma, not who she was anymore. This was the Emma who sabotaged things, who was constantly unhappy and didn’t want to fix it because what was the point?

 

Emma so badly didn’t want to become her birth mother and yet in that very moment, that’s who she was vowing to become. A bitter person, a person who wouldn’t own up to her faults. Helga had constantly taken out her pain on others, Emma included. Emma had memories of trying to help her, after Ed had been in one of his rages. The little girl, all of 4, would wrap her arms around her mother’s torso.

**Ten Years Ago**

_“Mommy,” Emma had whispered._

_Helga was shaking, blood pouring from her cheek where the beer bottle had hit. Her husband and her had been arguing and both had let it get physical. Ed took things to another level when he downed the alcoholic beverage and let it go flying into her taste. Once again, he was gone._

_“It’s okay, Mommy, it’s going to be okay,” the blonde assured her. It was comfort she had never experienced herself, but she had seen it before, on the playground. Another child had fallen and his mother held him, hugging him and telling him it would be okay. She longed for her mommy to do the same._

_Helga looked down into her daughter’s eyes, a part of her wondering just how she was so innocent given her life.  She could hear the things that went on her daughter’s bedroom, she had inflicted pain on her, herself. “Emma,” the woman said, slowly. “Do you think that Daddy loves me?”_

_Emma thought about it for a minute. Love wasn’t exactly a word used to often around their house. “Yes.”_

_“And do you think I love you?”_

_The little girl thought of what her teacher had said around Christmas, about how they needed to make wreaths for their parents. She said their mommies and daddies loved them, they did so much for them. Her teacher was so nice, so kind, she had to be right. “Yes.”_

_The woman knelt in front of her, taking her by the shoulders. “It’s not going to be okay, Emma.”_

_“But Mommy…”_

_“Your daddy doesn’t love me; I don’t love him. And I can assure you one thing,” she pushed the girl away a bit. Tears filled Emma’s eyes as the woman she called mommy whispered the next words. “I don’t love you. I don’t love anything. And nothing is ever going to be okay.” She got up and walked out of the house, leaving her child alone once again._

* * *

Dinner was a rather quiet affair. The three of them ate together, but no words were exchanged. It reminded the teen of one of her old foster families. They were forced to pray over the meal but then after that, all had to be quiet. It was a “speak when spoken to” household. Emma didn’t last very long there, but the memory stayed with her.

 

David watched his daughter, while not letting her know he was. He so badly wanted to hug her and ask why she was acting like this, why she couldn’t see why he did what he had. He could in a way understand her not listening to them. It wasn’t okay, but she was a teenager and they were her parents. But Whale had even told her not to do it, a doctor.  This wasn’t just a rule they set out as protective parents. A medical professional had told her that it wasn’t safe and she didn’t listen. He knew Emma was stubborn and would lie about her pain, he just didn’t really think she would go that far. Sure, the date had been inscribed in his mind for a while, but the sheriff had assumed she was smarter than that.

 

The not talking is probably what bothered him the most, not just about why she had done what she did in this case, but with Ingrid too. Growing up, while his family wasn’t the wealthiest, they were happy. Then James died and things seemed to change overnight. His father stopped talking to he and his mother. He would simply go drink and ignore the problems at hand. It lead to many dinners like the ones they were having. Ruth would attempt to talk to her husband and yet, nothing. David was careful to avoid bringing up anything to upset him. And then one day, his dad was just gone.

 

David knew that Emma wouldn’t just leave. It probably said more about her progress that she hadn’t tried to run off after Mary’s talk. Not that she had anywhere to run to, though. It wasn’t as if she could try to find her way back into the system. He hated that it could be a possibility in her mind.

 

Mary finally spoke up at the end of dinner. “Emma, will you please clear the table?”

“Oh so now you have something to say?” The teen quipped back.

“Emma,” David warned. “Do as your mother said.”

 

Emma rolled her eyes and just sat there. If they were going to pick and choose when to talk to her, she certainly wasn’t going to do them any favors.

 

David counted back from 10 in his head. “Emma, clear the table. Now.”

“No.”

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t a request.”

“Well as you said, I clearly don’t know the difference.”

 

The three of them were in a standoff. On the one hand, Mary so badly wanted to send the girl to her room for the amount of sass flying from her mouth. On the other, that would just teach her that she could disrespect her way out of anything.

 

“I’m not going to ask you again,” she said carefully. “Clear the table or I can start adding to your grounding.”

The green-eyed girl scoffed. “How can you add to a punishment that’s already indefinite?”

“Really? Because I can think of so many things that I can take away. Your graduation dance, for example.”

“That’s not for 2 more months! Are you seriously trying to suggest I’m going to be grounded that long?!?” Emma was in a state of shock, she never had a punishment last that long.

Mary cocked an eyebrow. “Your punishment is on the contingency of you learning your lesson. I sincerely hope that you don’t take 2 months for that to happen, but regardless, I can still take things away from after you do.”

 

Emma jumped up, ignoring the shooting pain and gathered the dishes, rather aggressively. She didn’t picture herself wanting to apologize anytime soon. After quickly rinsing them, she walked back up to her room.

 

Mary tipped her head back as she searched for wine. David looked perplexed. “Are you drinking? You never do during the week.”

“I just got a reason right there,” Mary mumbled. She didn’t like to drink when she was stressed, but it was a special occasion. She poured out two glasses, pushing one towards her husband.

“I don’t drink when I’m upset,” he said. It was a rule he had after what that had done to his father.

“Then can we toast my new job at least?”

 

A small smile spread across his face.

 

“New job?”

Mary nodded. “I got offered it today, right in the interview.”

David pulled her close, kissing her for a moment. She let it linger, for the first time in a few hours, feeling completely relaxed, him feeling the same. Finally, he pulled apart from her, resting his forehead against hers. “This amazing.”

“Thank you. I would’ve told you and Emma this afternoon, but well…there were more pressing matters.”

“I’m sorry,” David frowned.

“Don’t,” Mary waved him off. “It’s nothing we could’ve avoided and I don’t even blame Emma either.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

“Not until this is over. I’d rather not get a sarcastic response, because this makes me really happy.”

“You deserve that,” he murmured into her ear before laying a kiss to it.

* * *

David wasn’t sure whether he should call it luck or just a funny coincidence, but the next day, Emma had an appointment with Dr. Whale. It had been planned long before the little stunt, just to make sure her ankle was adjusting well to life off crutches. Of course, she had yet to apologize or even try to talk about what had happened, but the father was hoping, at least a little, this might show her how bad things would’ve been. Mary said not to get his hopes up, the girl was clearly too stubborn to even listen to medical advice.

 

“Emma Nolan,” the nurse called out, leading the father-daughter pair into the back. She took Emma’s vitals and into the back for X-RAYs, then seemed to disappear after that.

“I have to tell him about your stunt,” David said once they were alone. He hoped telling her now would make sure that she wouldn’t explode on Whale.

Emma gave him a disgusted look. “Are you serious?”

“Very,” he replied. “Maybe he can talk some sense into you.”

 

She rolled her eyes.

 

“Anyone else you want to tell? Archie maybe, then you two can gang up on me and diagnosis me with something else so I can’t ever have a life,” she shot back.

David counted back from 10, under his breath, he couldn’t even do it in his head that time. “I am not doing this so you don’t have a life. Though your attitude is guaranteeing your social calendar is going to remain empty.” He received another scowl as Whale entered the room.

“Well Emma, how are we feeling?” he asked.

“Some pain, but overall fine.”  It was a partial lie, but she was really hoping her father wouldn’t tell him the truth.

“Yesterday she attempted to try out for cross country,” David said, his voice hard.

Whale raised an eyebrow. “Emma, I thought we discussed this, you clearly aren’t ready.”

“I feel fine,” she tried to say.

“I don’t think you understand the severity of your ankle,” he cut her off. Up on the boards, he posted the X-RAYs and pointed some things out to her. “Your cartilage is completely broken. That won’t just heal on its own. Now in some patients, they can live with it and never need surgery. Yours is not the case. In fact, I can tell that you’re not resting as much as you should.”

 

Blush spread across Emma’s cheeks, hating being chastised.

 

“As of right now, I believe you can avoid any procedures until summer, I know that’s your best bet with school and all. Your summer will unfortunately have to be uneventful but…”

“Wait, what?” Emma’s blush melted away. “What does that mean?”

“After the surgery, you’ll spend at least 6 weeks on bed rest,” he explained.

“NO!” The teen didn’t want to explode at the doctor, but she couldn’t help it. “That’s practically the entire summer!”

“I understand,” the doctor tried to explain patiently. “However, your ankle is seriously injured, Emma. If we don’t do something about this, then you could face worse repercussions down the line.”

Emma folded her arms. “And if I refuse the surgery?”

Whale looked back at David, prompting him to speak, so the father did. “Emma, you don’t have a choice.”

“It’s my body.”

“And your parents have the right to request me to perform medical treatment on you,” Whale explained.

“This is bull.”

“Emma,” David gave her a look and she just rolled her eyes. He let out a frustrated sigh and looked at the doctor. “I’m sorry, Dr. Whale.”

He chuckled. “It’s alright, in the short time I’ve known Emma, I’ve expected this reaction. Just look at the X-RAYs, hon. You need this surgery, I know it’ll suck to be laid up but no pain, no gain, right?”

 

Emma sighed, her glare lowering a bit.

 

“I guess,” she mumbled.

“Great. Now, let’s see you try to walk.”

 

Whenever Whale said that, David couldn’t help but think about what Emma’s fists steps would’ve been like, about how excited yet panicked he would’ve been.

 

The thoughts melted away soon, when Whale began speaking again. “I’m going to suggest you keep the brace on. And seriously, stay away from too much physical activity.” He shook hands with both the Nolans before leaving.

 

Emma grabbed her stuff, putting her hoodie back on. David lead her to the truck, stopping in the parking lot.

 

“So,” he said. “Do you have anything you’d like to say?”

Emma stared up at him, for a moment. “I think it sucks that you’re forcing me to ruin my summer and have surgery.”

 

It took all he had in him to not throw his hands up in the air and scream. Instead, he just rolled his eyes.

 

“Let’s go. Your mom wants me to get Granny’s for dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Emma’s learned…nothing, but what fun would it be if she did right away? As always, thank you guys so much for reviewing, they all really do mean a lot. Y’all rock. I do read every single one of them! I have read the ones requesting Emma slip up in terms of her self-harm and I do have plans for that, but I also have something specific in mind for the trigger and it will come up in the next chapter. As always, please keep reviewing and I do take into consideration what you guys want to see, so always let me know!


	29. Last To Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mention of self-harm in this chapter.

Mary heard the door to the house open and slam shut. _Emma_ , she thought. A second later it opened and closed softly. _David._ She saw a whirlwind of brown hair go by the room and then David. She raised an eyebrow.

 

“What’s wrong now?” she asked.

“Whale informed her that when she gets surgery, she’ll have to be on bed rest for 6 weeks after,” he explained.

Mary sighed. “Well I can see why that would make her upset. Can you imagine having to do that?”

“I don’t blame her,” David said, putting down the take-out bags. “It’s just not going to help her attitude.”

“We should cut her a bit of a break over that,” she said. “Maybe I should try talking to her again.”

“I already did. She still thinks she’s right and she blames us for the bed rest.”

“Us? Why?”

“Because we’re making her get the surgery done.”

“She needs it.”

“This is Emma we’re talking about, remember?”

 

The brunette sighed.

 

“I bet she’ll come around by then, but I have a feeling those are going to be the longest six weeks of our lives,” Mary said.

“Yeah and since you’ll be home with her…” David smirked. “Good luck.”

Mary rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his shoulder. “Who do you think is taking the nightshifts?”

“We’re going to have to watch her like a hawk, aren’t we?”

“Like you said, it’s Emma.”

 

Mary looked up the stairs, knowing her daughter was upset and she had every right to be. She couldn’t just stand there and not at least try to talk to her about it. Nothing she said would make it better, but she could find stuff for Emma to do. Maybe this could reopen the lines of communication.

 

“At the very least, she needs to eat.”

“She said she wasn’t hungry, but I got her a grilled cheese anyway.”

“Then I’ll go get her.”  


Before her husband could refute, she walked up the stairs and carefully knocked on Emma’s door. She was still upset with her daughter, but wanted to try it. There was no response, so she walked in. Emma sat on her bed, throwing darts at a dart board. She had dug the board out of the attic a few months back and they had told her she could keep it as long as she was safe. On the board, she noticed a picture of Whale. The woman had to stifle a laugh.

 

“How’d you get a picture of Whale?”

“Facebook. Printed it back when he told me that I couldn’t do cross country.”

 

Mary nodded.

 

“You know, your dad got you something from Granny’s.”

“Uh huh.”

“He told me what Whale said.”

“David sure loves to talk.”

Mary raised an eyebrow. “He is still your father.”

“Whatever.”

 

Mary reminded herself she chose to walk in, so she couldn’t be too mad by her attitude.

 

“It sucks, but I’m sure we can find stuff for us to do. I’ll be home…”

“You’re not even talking to me, so I doubt we’ll be doing anything.”

Mary sighed. “Emma, you know why things are the way they are…”

“Yeah. Can you leave me alone now?”

Her mother studied her for a moment, clearly, they weren’t going to get anywhere. And right now, she was getting close to baiting, her so any attitude would fall on her. “At least come eat.”

“Like I told David, I’m not hungry.”

“Emma. You can’t not eat because you’re mad. You don’t even have to eat with us.”

“I’m not hungry. So, unless you’re going to find some way to force me, don’t waste your breath.”

 

Emma waited for her mother to leave before she grabbed the last dart she had and threw it, missing the picture completely and it fell to the floor.  She threw herself back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She was hungry, starving actually. She had skipped lunch because she and Lily had a project to work on. But, she wasn’t going to sit through another silent dinner or even be around her father at that moment.

 

As she laid there, she thought of how quickly they had all connected. She started calling him “Dad” not long after meeting. How was she so comfortable with him that early? It was if her brain was trying to tell her something. She wasn’t scared of him, not like the others. She had been wary at first, especially since he was a cop. He earned her trust so easily and she still didn’t understand why. A part of her wondered if she had really meant it at the time or it was just her being hopeful. While they were close, did they really have to work at their relationship or did she just let it happen? Maybe that was the problem…he just made her feel safe. She saw how he got when she spoke of her past so she tried not to bring it up. She just let him act like a dad. A part of her felt like he didn’t really know her.

 

He didn’t know her biggest fear, neither did Mary. And she didn’t want them to know that. She didn’t want them to know that while she loved them and knew that they loved her…she hated herself.

 

She hated her past and what it did to her. She hated that she looked like her biological mother. She hated that she could be stubborn and she hated the side of her that could be sweet. And parts of it, she didn’t even understand. It was all too much for her 14-year-old mind to comprehend.

 

She realized that’s why they connected so quickly. They loved her when she couldn’t love herself. She thought that would be enough, that if someone could finally love her, then she’d get better. But she didn’t.

 

She felt like she wasn’t worthy of love, still. She still didn’t understand why they loved her. Even in that moment, she had been acting like a brat for days. Yet, Mary was trying to be nice to her. Sometimes their ability to forgive seemed to be too much. Though, she wasn’t convinced they were going to forgive her for her actions. She wasn’t even sorry, so she didn’t want forgiveness.

 

Emma thought of the razors in her bathroom. She had the sudden desire to cut, so she could distract herself from the pain. Archie had told her to write down when she wanted to do that, so she did. She wrote down all of her feelings, but it wasn’t enough. So, she got up and headed towards the bathroom.

 

When it was over, she stared down at her bleeding arms. She wasn’t even crying, she just felt hollow inside, like how she did after she found out Mary and David had lied. Yet, she still felt pain.

 

Not wanting to repeat her mistakes from last time, she cleaned off the blood and made sure that the cuts wouldn’t get infected. The last thing she wanted was for them to find out. She wasn’t even sure how they would react given the current state of their relationships. Last time, David had practically held her for what seemed like forever and Mary made the appointment with Archie.

 

She couldn’t even tell her therapist, he would tell them and try to get her to stop. But she didn’t want to this time. She wanted to stop thinking, in general. She looked over at her clock, it was pushing 8 PM. Downstairs, she could still here her parents shuffling around with the T.V on. So, the teen crept across the hall and into their bedroom. Making sure to side step anything David may have left on the floor so as not to make noise, she reached their bathroom and located her beta blockers. They would knock her out so she could have a full night sleep. Praying they didn’t count them, she took two, put the bottle exactly where it was and headed back to her room. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.

The next few days seemed to pass by in a blur for Emma, not much had changed at home and while she hadn’t cut again, the urge was there.

 

At lunch that afternoon, her and Ruby sat side by side eating when Lily came over, looking excited.

 

“Where have you been?” Ruby asked as she sat down.

“In the office, I may or may not have mouthed off to Mr. Buchanan.”

Emma couldn’t help but laugh. “Then why do you look so excited? Your mom said if she got another call, you’d be grounded.”

“Well I heard some news that made up for it. Though Em, you’re slacking on best friend duties, you should’ve been the one to tell me.”

The girl looked at her friend, perplexed. “What?”

“Your mom’s going to be the vice principal at the high school next year!”

 

Emma felt her heart sink. She remembered her mom telling her months ago that she applied, but nothing ever seemed to come with it. She didn’t really care that she was going to be it, but she did that she didn’t tell her. She knew things had been frosty, but this was big. Mary had wanted to work higher in administration since she was in college, this was like a dream come true for her. She couldn’t understand why her mom wouldn’t have told her.

 

“Wow,” Ruby broke Emma out of her thoughts. “Your mom’s going to be the VP? That’s going to be so cool.”

“You’ll probably like, rule the school,” Lily added. “And as your best friends, we’ll of course make sure no one messes with you because of it.”

“Bae will too, three built in bodyguards.” Ruby was smiling now. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Emma bit her lip. “Because I didn’t know.”

 

Silence fell across the table.

 

“Oh…” Lily suddenly looked guilty. “I’m sorry, the person who was talking about it said they heard it from your dad.”

“I knew she had interviewed, but not that she got it,” Emma replied, staring forward.

 

Everyone else knew, everyone. Except her.

 

 _Why wouldn’t she tell me? I had a right to know before everyone else!_  
  


“I can’t believe she wouldn’t tell me,” she continued. “This is big.”

“Maybe she’s going to?” Ruby suggested, trying to sound hopeful. “Like she has a special way of telling you.”

“Yeah, like me showing up and just finding her there.” She shook her head. “This is such bull.”

“Em…”

Emma noticed her two friends looked a little worried and sighed. She couldn’t push them away, they were practically all she had at that point. “I’m sorry, I’m not mad at you two. Just at her.”

 

The rest of the meal was spent with Lily and Ruby trying to cheer her up and she did her best to entertain them. She just wanted the day to be over.

 

_Just two classes to go, you got this._

After the next bell, she went to Math and slid into her seat. It was a rare class that she didn’t have with her friends, so she slipped into the back. Normally, she did try her best. While she wasn’t the greatest at Math, she did try. And Mary had really helped her with it. Today, she just didn’t want to deal.

 

The teacher walked into the classroom and gave them all a smile. “Alright class, I have a surprise for you. Hope you did your homework, because it’s time for a pop quiz.”

 

Emma internally groaned. She hadn’t done her homework. The night before she had taken another beta blocker when her thoughts were just becoming too much. Still, she felt pretty confident about the quiz. She watched it circulate around after digging out a pencil and once she got one, she scribbled down her name.

 

As her eyes glanced on the first question, she began to zone out. She knew this stuff, it was actually pretty easy. But all she could think about was her mother. And how she hadn’t told her about the job. Emma had been so excited for her mom when she told her about the opportunity. She felt like she had every right to know and could not understand why she had to hear it from Lily. What she couldn’t see was how her attitude had impacted her mother’s choice. Deep down in her brain, she knew with her current attitude she probably wouldn’t have responded in the best way. But she wasn’t using her common sense in that moment.

 

The questions on the page were blurring together, she couldn’t even focus. Just sitting there was driving her nuts. She glanced around the room where everyone else was at work before looking up at the teacher, who was simply grading other papers. Everyone lost in their own little bubble. She wondered if their thoughts were as clogged as hers.

 

She didn’t want to cut, she just wanted to disappear.

 

So, Emma dropped her pencil onto the desk and grabbed her bookbag, hoisting it over her shoulder. Slowly she stood up and headed to the front of the class. The teacher looked up from the sudden movements.

 

“Emma, no one can leave the room before the quiz is over.”

 

The teen didn’t respond. She simply kept walking and left the room, letting the door shut behind her as the teacher continued to call her name. She walked past the lockers and down a flight of stairs, ignoring the pain in her ankle. She walked past the front office and out the main doors, once again ignoring the calls of people. She wasn’t even running or walking very quickly, she went at her own pace. No tears, no heavy breathing.

 

She walked down Main Street and past the station, where she could see her dad through the window. He didn’t see her, as he was busy with paperwork. She didn’t stop for long and resumed what she was doing. Emma walked and walked until she reached her one place of solace…the beach.

* * *

Mary stood in front of her class, holding up a sheet of paper.

 

“I’ll be putting one of these in each of your take home folders. It’s a family tree, have your parents help you fill it out if needed. We all come from somewhere, find out your story. Just remember, family might not even be the people we think it is.”

 

It was an assignment she had done a lot over her 7 years of teaching, so she expected questions. Just as one boy raised his hand to ask if they could include pets, the door opened and a security guard walked in along with another teacher.

 

“Mrs. Nolan, Miss Friar is going to take over your class, we need to talk,” he said.

Panic filled her as she wondered about her daughter, if she was hurt.  She simply nodded and told her class to listen to Miss Friar before following him out. “What’s going on?”

“Emma walked out of her class,” he explained

She sighed, somehow this didn’t surprise her. “I’ll go find her, she likes going to the track.”

“No, she didn’t just walk out of her class, she made it out of the building.”

The panic returned. “What? But how? Students can’t just walk out like that in the middle of the day.”

“We can’t lock the doors from the inside,” he told her. “It’s a fire safety violation. Normally we have people by the doors but Will Scarlet had started yet another fight so we were off handling that. I caught Emma right before she was going to leave and she just kept walking.”

 

Running a hand through her hair, she pulled out her phone, sending a text to her daughter.

 

**Emma, where are you?**

Suddenly, she heard chirping from her purse and looked inside. Emma’s phone was in there. That’s when she remembered, Emma had deemed her phone unusable the night prior because she couldn’t text her friends. Mary meant to give it back to her but in the craziness of getting out the door that morning (since the teen decided to purposefully oversleep), she forgot.

 

“Alright, I’ll try to find her,” she said.

“I managed to convince the principal not to suspend her, but the teacher will probably give her a detention.”

Mary nodded. “Thank you, Lance.”

“Not a problem. Do you want me to call Mr. Nolan?”

“No, I’ll do it, thanks though.”

 

She headed into the teacher’s lounge before dialing David’s number. A mixture of worry and disappointment was inside of her. The disappointment stemmed from the fact that this stunt didn’t surprise her, it seemed to be the next step in Emma’s new attitude. Her husband answered on the third ring.

 

Before he could say anything, Mary spoke. “Emma ditched school.”

“What?!?”

“She just walked out.”

“Do you think she’s trying to run away?” His voice was filled with panic.

“No, she knows too many people would see her leaving. I think this is just another rebellion thing.”

“I’ll go look for her.”

“Is it busy at the station?”

“No, but regardless. She’s our daughter, I’ll always go looking for her.”

* * *

Emma lowered herself into the sand. It was late March and still a little cold, but not as much. She sat there, staring forward at the waves, letting her anger fester.

 

“Emma?”

 

The familiar voice made her look up. Baelfire stood there, looking confused, his handy messenger bag swung over his shoulder.

 

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked. The high school got out earlier, but there still would’ve been more time.

“The teacher for my last class was out sick so I convinced my dad to let me have an early day.” He sat down beside her. “I could ask you the same thing.”

She dragged the rim of her sneaker through the sand. “Walked out.”

“What? That’s not you.” His voice was filled with concerned.

“I just kept staring at this quiz and I just didn’t want to take it….so I didn’t.”

“Didn’t get the material?”

“No, I did.” She looked back up. “Did you know my mom is going to be the vice principal at the high school next year?”

“I didn’t,” he studied her face. “Is that what’s bothering you?”

“No, she just didn’t tell me that she got it. I had to hear it from Lily and it seems like I’m one of the last to know. Which I don’t get.” Emma’s dark locks moved quickly as she shook her head. “I’m her daughter! She knew I was supportive of her doing this, I have every right to know that she got it!”

 

Baelfire was silent for a minute. He went to speak, but then stopped himself. Emma raised an eyebrow.

 

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Bae, you were going to say something.”

“You don’t want to hear it.”

“You’re my friend. You can tell me anything.”

He sighed. “You promise not to get mad? And know it’s coming from a good place?”

Emma rose to her feet. “You think she was right not to tell me?!?”

Baelfire stood, as well, his voice staying calm. “Emma, I’ve seen how you’ve been acting lately.”

“How? I’ve been grounded.”

“At the diner, the other day. You were with your parents. Your dad asked you to pass the ketchup and it took you 5 minutes to actually do it and when you did, you nearly broke the bottle.”

“Well, I…”

“And then at the pharmacy. Your mom tried to start a conversation with you like three separate times and you flat out refused.”

Emma folded her arms, her eyes narrowing. “Are you spying on me, Gold?”

“No, I just see things. Plus, Lily told me about tryouts and that you told her that you haven’t really been talking to them because of that.”

“Well I’m fine.”

“I’m not a doctor, so I’m not going to argue with you there. What I mean is, you’re not exactly acting like a ray of sunshine and I get why. Your ankle is hurt, you can’t do as much as you used to. But you can’t take that out on them.”

“Why not?!?” Emma exploded. “I know I’m fine, they’re the ones that are overreacting.”

Bae was quiet again and he said his next words slowly, like he was afraid to say them. “Right now, you’re acting like how you described your birth mom to be.”

 

Emma’s green eyes widened, more anger filling her. She shoved her friend.

 

“How dare you say that?!?”

“Because, I get it, Em! I get what it’s like to be so pissed off that you turn into the worst version of yourself. I can get like Milah. But it doesn’t do anything. You’re hurting your parents again and they did nothing wrong.”

 

Emma didn’t even hear that last part. All she could hear was him comparing her to Helga. Over and over again in her head. Tears trickled to her eyes as she realized…he was right. This was her.

 

She’d get mad, mad over something that wasn’t even close to being Emma’s fault. Then she’d lash out on the girl.  She’d yell at her or worse, ignore her. One day, Ed and Helga had fought over their financial problems. Ed had spent money on more drugs and they were looking at getting evicted. As a result, Helga didn’t talk to Emma for a week.

 

And Emma realized, it’s what she had always done. She lashed out at David because of a bad dream, pushed Mary away after her meeting with Ingrid. And she had done it in foster homes too. Kids who didn’t deserve it, had to deal with her snapping because she hated her life.

 

She had done all she could to change her image, but she couldn’t even change her attitude.

 

She was her birth mother.

 

And in that moment, she never hated herself more.

 

She looked up at Bae, who looked extremely guilty, as if he had just done something wrong.

 

“I have to go,” Emma whispered.

“Wait, I didn’t…”

“You were right.”

 

That was the last thing she said before walking away. Her ankle was hurting again, but she didn’t care. As she walked back onto Main Street, she walked almost right into David without realizing. He simply looked at her, disappointment in his eyes.

  
“Truck,” was all he said.

 

Emma didn’t argue. She climbed into the passenger side and laid her head against the window. She needed to cry, she wanted to cry but she wasn’t going to, not in front of him. He got in and they drove in quiet to the house. Not even the radio played and it seemed as if Storybrooke was suddenly still.

 

“Inside,” David instructed once they were home.

 

Twenty minutes ago, she would’ve made some remark asking if his farm upbringing lead him to knowing how to speak only one word at a time. But she didn’t want to speak, she couldn’t. She didn’t want to be like Helga. So, she simply followed him inside and into the kitchen where Mary was.

 

“Why did you walk out of class?” Mary asked.

 

Emma wasn’t even angry anymore about not being told. And she wasn’t up for an argument or heartfelt moment, so she simply didn’t speak.

 

“Emma,” David’s voice sounded tired. “Your mother asked you a question.”

 

All her mind could think about was her razor. She knew the exact place it was in. Upstairs, in her bathroom, the third drawer down. It was hidden between a box of tampons and another one that was filled with Q-Tips.

 

Mary went to repeat her question, when she caught a glimpse of her daughter’s face. She looked exhausted and distraught. Any anger she still had was replaced with worry. David followed his wife’s glance and saw the same thing, with it having a similar effect.

 

“What is going on?” Mary whispered, she sounded almost desperate. And she was. She wanted to know what was going on with her daughter, not just with this, but with everything. This wasn’t Emma and she knew it.

 

Emma looked between the two of them, having so much she wanted to say. She wanted to say that she needed them, but that she didn’t feel that she had them. She wanted to say that she didn’t want to tell them what was going on because she knew they’d just try to fix it and they couldn’t. She felt like breaking down right there. She felt vulnerable and wanted their comfort. But she also knew it wasn’t going to really help. Nothing could.

 

So, instead she said nothing. Her eyes glanced at the stairs and then back to them, as if she was silently asking permission to be excused. David’s impulse was to say no, but before he could, Mary spoke up. She knew that they weren’t going to get anywhere in that moment.

 

“Yes, you can go. But we do need to talk about this eventually. Your teacher says you got an F on the quiz and you have detention tomorrow.”

 

Emma nodded in response and headed up the stairs, going straight for her bathroom. After shutting the door and throwing her backpack to the floor, she opened up the drawer and found the razor. She wasn’t even going to bother trying to write down how she felt, she could barely understand it herself.

 

After it was over and she cleaned up the blood, she just couldn’t handle it anymore. Quickly, her shaky hands turned on the water and she slid down the wall as she began to cry. The tears were over so many different things: her past, the current state of her relationship with her parents (and for that she blamed herself), Ingrid, Bae, feeling like she was Helga. She even cried for reasons her teenage mind couldn’t comprehend. She was so young and yet had so many emotions and she didn’t know how to handle them all.

 

She wasn’t even mad at her mom anymore about not telling her about the job. She wouldn’t have told her either. Once again, she just didn’t feel good enough. She didn’t think they’d send her away, but she knew she wasn’t the daughter they deserved. Though, oddly, another part of her still wasn’t sorry for trying to try out.

 

Try outs. That’s what all of this started over or that’s what it seemed like. In reality, this was just all of the issues she pretended went away because she finally had a family flooding over.

 

She wanted to go back in time and not run into Ingrid. If she hadn’t been so grumpy about being so restricted due to her ankle, she wondered if Mary would’ve noticed the woman staring at them. What she didn’t realize was that this had to happen, it needed to. It was important for her to get it all out.

 

Once again, Emma wanted her parents. She wanted to feel safe again, to feel loved. The hugs weren’t going to fix it, but it’s just what she wanted. And yet she didn’t feel like she could ask for it. She didn’t feel deserving.

 

She hated every part of her. The hair, her personality, her ankle. She hated herself.

 

So, she sat there, letting the tears fall, feeling once again like a lost little girl.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was requested that Emma relapse, so that’s how all of this came about. Some wanted her to run away, but I hope the walking out of class was still as good. I just felt it’d be a little less repetitive, plus it gave Emma a chance to talk to Bae. What is it with them and big talks on the beach? As always, thank you all for the reviews and support! If you have anything you want to see, just let me know. I wanted to address something someone asked. I replied to them via PM, but figured I’d put it here. I do plan on having all members of the Charming family in this story at some point. I have lots and lots of ideas, this story will have a few installments. If you do have any other characters from the show you want to see, let me know. Holding off on Regina for now, though. I think I know how I want to introduce her but I’m not sure. Anyway, hope you all are having a great week!


	30. Word Count

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mentions of self-harm in this chapter.

Mary’s concern had grown over the next 2 weeks. Emma’s attitude had shifted. She no longer talked back, but that was because she barely spoke at all. The mother had counted, she had heard her daughter’s voice 15 times in 14 days. The only times she would, is if she really needed to communicate. She went to a session with Archie that lasted all of 10 minutes because she refused to say anything.

 

Suddenly, she felt as if she would rather have the sassy Emma back. She’d take getting her head bitten off instead of this. Nothing seemed to be working. All Archie could say is that she would talk in her own time.

 

“I can’t keep doing this,” Mary told David as they made breakfast one morning. “I just can’t, it’s killing me.”

“What are we supposed to do?” The sheriff was at a much of a loss as she was, feeling her pain as well. He was beginning to even forget what his daughter’s smile looked like.

“I don’t know. Today I have to take her to fix her hair, maybe that’ll do something?”

 

They both knew that it wouldn’t, but they were so desperate, they would try anything.

 

Light footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and a moment later, their daughter was in the kitchen. By that point, they had stopped their tough act and were trying to go the loving approach.

 

“Morning sweets,” Mary said, a smile on her face. She took in Emma’s outfit and noted that despite the warmer weather, she was wearing a long-sleeved top. “It’s sort of warm out today. You sure you want to wear that?”

 

Emma simply shrugged and took her seat at the table.

 

It was David’s turn. “I made pancakes.” He knew food wasn’t going to fix it, but he figured it’d get at least half a smile. He thought wrong. The girl just sat there.

 

 

He slid them onto the plate and sat it in front of her. Emma stared down at them, using her fork to pick a hole. She had been barely eating, she just didn’t feel hungry anymore. A part of her didn’t even get why they were being so nice to her, after they seemed so mad. It took all she had not to break down and spill everything.

 

That was the whole reason behind her not talking in the first place. She didn’t want to say anything else to screw up and she didn’t want them to know what was going on in her head. So, she simply said as little as possible. She constantly felt their eyes on her, as if she was going to explode or something. That is what lead to her spending most of her time in her room.

 

She wasn’t saying much at school either, enough to not worry Lily and Ruby. Emma wasn’t sure if she was still grounded or not, she didn’t ask to go anywhere. However, her mom had put access to her other contacts on her phone, so she figured it was supposed to be an olive branch. Bae had tried to text, but she never responded. She wasn’t mad at him, yet she didn’t feel up to talking to him.

 

“So, after breakfast,” Mary’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “You have an appointment to fix your hair.” Emma merely nodded. Her mother tried to think of a question that wasn’t yes or no. “Should we get Granny’s or something else afterwards?”

“Granny’s,” the teen mumbled in response.

 _Sixteen words_ , Mary noted. “Sounds good to me.”

David checked his watch. “I better get going.” He kissed his wife. “Love you.”

“I love you too, stay safe.”

“Always do.” He walked to Emma and pressed a kiss to her head. “Love you.”

 

As usual, it was meant with nothing. David tried to tell himself that it wasn’t him, but he didn’t even know that. Something was wrong with his daughter and he had no clue what it was. He couldn’t help but wonder what caused her to walk out of school, where she went and what went down. Even if she was mad at them, he couldn’t see why she would just leave. Archie had advised them not to stress on it, but in their minds, they were asking, _How can we not?_ Their daughter was clearly depressed and it came out of almost nowhere.

 

After David left and Emma finished up her breakfast, Mary lead her outside to the car. Of course, it was nothing but silent. Once they arrived at the salon, she checked her daughter in.

 

“Emma Nolan?” The hairdresser called out.

Mary glanced at her. “Want me to come with you?”

 

Emma shook her head no and followed the woman to get her hair washed.

 

“So, your mom said you need to fix your hair,” the woman examined the roots, which were starting to show blonde. “I have your exact coloring. It might tingle a bit, but you should have no issues. Sound good?”

 

The teen nodded and allowed her to wash her hair, before leading her to the chair. The process seemed to be fairly simple, though boring. Emma shut her eyes at one point, just wanting it all to be over. She had hated that hair color, but wasn’t overly excited to get back to the original. Already, she would have even more to remind her of Helga. But there was no real alternative, at least not one that her mother had offered.

 

It did soon begin to burn, more than the hairdresser said it would. She clenched onto the chair, her fingertips digging in. Mary could see what was going on from her spot in the waiting area. There was only one other customer in the salon, so she slowly got up and walked over. Not wanting to embarrass Emma, she started to make small talk with the hairdresser.

 

“How are your kids? They must be what, two and five by now?” The brunette asked with a smile. She gently placed her hand about five inches away from her daughter’s, moving it closer and closer as she chatted. Soon, her warm palm was on top of Emma’s cool one. The girl didn’t move to grab it, but she didn’t push it off either.

 

The process took some time, Emma had said (before her silence had started) that she wouldn’t mind sitting long to fix it. She figured it would be better than having to come back a few times. At that moment, though, she regretted it.

 

After what seemed like forever, it was finally over. She couldn’t help but notice that it was a bit lighter than usual.

 

“It’ll go back to normal soon,” the hairdresser informed her. “This is just the best I can do.”

“Thank you,” Emma whispered.

 _18 words_ , Mary thought.  “Yes, thank you.”

“It was no problem at al.’

 

After paying, the two girls left the salon and headed towards parking lot. Mary stopped Emma for a moment and played with a strand of her blonde curls.

 

“You look beautiful,” Mary told her. “You always do, inside and out.” Emma stared at her blankly and she sighed. “So, Granny’s?”

 

The girl shrugged and got in the car. Mary sighed and got in on the other side.

* * *

Once they arrived at the diner, Emma immediately spotted Bae at the counter with Belle. She shut her eyes, debating what to do. Walking out would mean having to explain to her mother why she suddenly changed her mind on the diner and she couldn’t. Staying meant the possibility of Bae cornering her.

 

“Sweets? Are you okay?”

 

Emma’s green eyes blinked open and she sighed. Avoiding Bae was going to be the easier of the two. A waitress seated them and Emma pretended to consult the menu, hoping not to be noticed by her fellow curly haired friend.

 

“Emma?”

 

_Damn it._

She said nothing, her eyes intently on the menu, as if she had never eaten there before. Mary cast a suspicious look between the two and got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Even if they had ran into Lily and Ruby while out over the past couple of weeks, she would pretend to at least be interested in what they had to say.

 

_Did Baelfire do something? Did he hurt her? Is he the reason why my baby’s acting this way?_

She thought back to the day that he had called David, telling him what Will had done. When they arrived, he seemed so calm, so comforting. She trusted him around her daughter. Her mind also floated to the shirt incident.

 

 _Was that really an accident?_  
  


“Emma,” Bae repeated, his voice sounding desperate. But his friend stared at the menu, not even looking up. “Can we talk?” Nothing. A sigh escaped his lips and he walked back to his father’s fiancé, who was paying. Mary looked at them and then back at her daughter.

“Emma, I need to make a call,” she said. The girl merely nodded. “If the waitress comes back to get our drinks, order me a tea?” Emma nodded again.

 

Mary got up and followed the librarian and her step-son-to-be outside. Belle noticed and smiled.

 

“Hi Mary Margaret. How are you?”

“Fine. Do you mind if I talk to Baelfire alone?” She was trying to keep her voice even.

Baelfire looked at Belle. “Yeah, tell Papa I’ll be right there.”

The British woman, not sensing the tension simply smiled. “Of course. Nice seeing you, Mary.” And with that, she was gone.

“How’s Emma?” Baelfire asked.

“Honestly, not the greatest. She’s barely been speaking.”

Bae sighed. “I knew something bad was going to come of this.”

“What exactly did you do?” She couldn’t hold it in anymore, her protective mama bear was coming out.

The teenage boy realized where his friend’s mother was going and his eyes widened. “No, Mrs. Nolan, it’s not like that. I didn’t…I wouldn’t…”

“Really, because this is the second time my daughter has seemed to be uncomfortable around you.”

“The first time was an accident, and this time…” Bae trailed off.

“This time, what?”

“I found her the day she ditched school and we talked, that’s it.”

“What’d you say to make her so upset?”

 

Baelfire thought about it for a minute. If Emma hadn’t been talking, then he knew Mary wouldn’t know about the whole job thing. He didn’t want to be the one to tell her. The teen tried to find his words carefully. His former teacher did not look very happy in that moment. The look in her eyes reminded him of his father’s when his little league coach said he sucked.

 

“I basically just said that her attitude wasn’t helping things.” It wasn’t a lie, that was the gist of what he had told Emma.

“That’s it?” Mary asked.

“Yeah.”

The woman examined his face, trying to tell if he was lying or not. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I’m sorry for excusing you of more.” She did believe that for certain, that he hadn’t tried hurting her. She just wasn’t entirely positive of what their conversation had actually pertained.

“It’s fine. Tell Emma to text me, please. I’m worried about her.”

 

With that, the teenager headed to his father’s store. Mary sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. That had achieved very little, outside of her accusing a sweet boy of hurting her daughter. She went back into the diner and took her seat, noticing a cup of tea was there.

 

“Have you decided what you want?” Mary asked.

“Not hungry,” Emma muttered.

 _An even twenty._ “You have to eat, you barely touched your breakfast.” The newly blonde shrugged. “Just some onion rings, at least?” That suggestion received a headshake. “Emma.”

 

The girl didn’t say another word throughout lunch. When the waitress came back around to take the food order, Mary did order her daughter a basket of onion rings, but they remained untouched throughout the meal. Mary at them, while Emma just sipped on her water. The mother knew she couldn’t force her daughter to eat, but would just make sure she had something later.

 

Once they were back home, Emma headed straight for her room. Mary sighed and sat in a chair, tipping her head back.

* * *

David read the same line for the tenth time before pushing it out of the way. He couldn’t pay attention, Mary had texted him that the morning had not gone as they had hoped. He knew it wouldn’t, but he had just a sliver of faith that it could. His eyes glanced over to a picture frame he kept. He had quite a few, but it was a newer addition, one from Emma. Inside was a photo of the three of them before Emma had found out they knew about Ed being out of prison.

 

The teenager was in the middle of her parents, a huge smile across her face. Both David and Mary had their arms wrapped around her and were beaming down at her.

 

_Can I get this moment back, please?_

He would gladly go back to her sneaking out to parties and lying, because back then all it took was a hug to fix things. Though he was slowly starting to realize that maybe they hadn’t. Maybe it was only a short-term thing.

 

“You okay, Dave?”

 

David glanced up to see Graham standing there. He gave him a small smile.

 

“Just fine.”

“I’ve known you awhile, that’s not the look of someone who’s okay.” He walked in and sat across from him. “What’s going on? Is it Emma?”

“Why would you guess that?”

“Let’s just say it’s no secret something’s wrong with her.”

 

David’s muscles instantly tightened

 

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” He couldn’t help the venom that dripped in his voice.

Graham held up a hand in defense. “I don’t mean that I’ve noticed. But it’s just something I’ve heard.”

“ _Heard_? Heard from _who_?”

“You know what, maybe this was a mistake…”

“Graham!” David snapped. “You started this, finish it.”

The deputy sighed, rubbing his facial hair. “Just different people. First she was walking around town like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed and now…well now she’s barely talking.”

“Yeah, well she’s been through a lot.” The sheriff shook his head. “She is a little girl. No one should be gossiping about her.”

“I try to shut it down when I can. It’s just something people notice.”

“Well people need to mind their own damn business. I swear to God if anyone says a word to her…”

“They wouldn’t.” Graham studied his friend for a minute. “What _is_ going on?”

David sighed, shutting his eyes. “I wish I knew.”

“Is it about the woman you had in here a few weeks ago?”

“I don’t know.”

“Was that Emma’s mother?”

“Emma’s mother is my wife.”

Graham smiled, patiently. “Sorry, I meant her birth mom.”

“No, she’s dead. It was her birth mother’s sister.”

“I didn’t know people could just show up like that.”

“They’re not supposed to. I told her that if she came around again, I’d arrest her for harassment.”

“I can’t imagine how hard that is on you and Mary.”

David cocked an eyebrow. “It’s hard on Emma, she’s the one that’s lived with it all.”

“No, I mean knowing that she has family out there, birth family I mean,” Graham explained.

“The only reason it’s hard is because I know it sparks fear in my child. I know that nothing would take her from us.”

“I’d have fear for the person who tried,” Graham replied with a small smirk. “You know the whole town would rally behind you.”

“The same town that’s also gossiping about a 14-year-old.”

“It’s not the whole town, just people, people who have nothing better to do with their time.” The deputy rose to his feet. “I’m going to get us some coffee, you look like you could use it.”

David lightly smiled. “Thanks, Graham.”

 

The day passed on and he was able to head home. Once he was inside and had greeted his wife, she answered the question he hadn’t even asked.

 

“She’s been up in her room since we came home. And she hasn’t eaten.”

“Well she needs to,” David sighed. “How much longer can we watch her go through this?”

“I don’t know, but what choice do we have? Even Archie says there’s not much we can do. She won’t even talk to him.”

“It’s just killing me,” he whispered, harshly. “We’re her parents. We’re supposed to be able to fix these things!”

“Don’t you think that’s how I feel? I don’t even know how to help my own daughter.” Tears prickled Mary’s eyes.

David sighed and pulled her into his arms, kissing her head. “We’ll figure this out, we have before.”

“It’s different this time.” Not knowing what else to say, he just held her in his arms for a bit, not sure what to say to make her feel better. “I talked to Baelfire today.”

“Oh?”

She nodded, pulling her head from his chest. “Emma was just acting really weirdly around him.” Before David could go into protective father mode, she held up a hand, signaling to allow her to continue. “I don’t think he did anything physically.”

“Okay.” The blonde eyed his wife, he could tell there was more. “But?”

“He said he last spoke to Emma the day she skipped class, that he said her attitude wasn’t helping things.”

“And that caused her to stop talking?”

“No, I don’t think that was it. But I’m willing to bet he said something else.”

“Maybe I should have a talk with him…”

“David, no. He’s a 15-year-old boy, what are you going to possibly say?”

“How about, _What’d you say to my baby to make her act like this?_ ”

“I don’t think it was his fault,” Mary assured him. “He’s such a sweet kid and has been so nice to her, I doubt he would intentionally hurt her.”

“Yet he seems to have in some form.”

“I think he just brought up something that triggered her. If we figure out exactly what, maybe we’ll have our answer.”

“Well if we can’t talk to him and Emma’s spoken a total of…”

“20.”

“20 words around us, how are we supposed to figure this out?”

Mary bit her lip. “I don’t know. We’ll just have to figure it out.”

 

Emma refused to come down to dinner. It didn’t matter how much coaxing David did, she wouldn’t even leave her room. All Mary could do, was leave a plate and hope she’d eat it eventually.

 

After supper, David felt a headache coming on so he went to his bathroom, pulling out the aspirin bottle. As he did, he couldn’t help but notice beta blockers. He wanted to trust his daughter, but she was acting off. Taking them off the shelf, he shook the bottle. It didn’t seem any lighter.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Having sensed his wife presence, he wasn’t shocked. The bottle had been a new one that they purchased at the beginning of the year. Emma had panic attacks since, but only one that couldn’t be helped by her inhaler or just copying their breathing, at least to his knowledge.

 

“Have you given Emma any of these since her panic attack in February?”

“No, there should still be 19,” she replied, suddenly following his thought process.

 

Carefully, he dumped the pills out onto the counter and used his finger to count them, one by one. He did it a second time, frowning.

 

“There’s 17 here.”

Mary frowned. “Maybe she’s been having attacks without telling us?”

“We’d know, though. She can’t really move during them.”

“Well only two are missing,” his wife said, trying to be reassuring. “I don’t think she’s abusing them.”

“Still, there’s a chance she took them when she really didn’t need them. Maybe we should hide these better.”

“Here, give them to me.” David handed the bottle over and watched his wife carry them to the safe in their walk-in closet. She pulled out a smaller lock box and slid the pills in, locking it up. “I don’t think she has a problem and we can’t accuse her of one, but this way, they’re not as easily accessible.”

* * *

Emma watched the blood flow from her arm, suddenly feeling nothing from it. At one point, it made her feel better. But after a few weeks, it just seemed routine. She’d wake up, do whatever she was forced to (whether it be school or errands), hole up in her room for a bit and then go find her razor.

 

She cleaned herself up but then caught a glimpse of her arms. There were scars all over, some fading, others fresh. She hated them, they made her arms look ugly in her mind. Just another part of her to hate.

 

Emma slid down the sink, the tears falling down her face. This time, she couldn’t even be bothered to turn on the water. She just let herself cry, this had also become part of the routine. Only that night, the tears wouldn’t stop and the sobs began. She didn’t even notice just how loud they were until she heard the door to her bedroom opening.

 

“Stop crying,” she whispered to herself. “Stop crying.”

 

But she couldn’t. Her body wouldn’t let her. She couldn’t even move, it was like she was frozen in place. The tears and sobs didn’t stop, her hands wouldn’t allow her to pull down on her sleeves to cover up the scars. It was like she was finally just giving up.

 

“Emma?”

 

Mary’s voice followed knocking. The teen tried to speak, she tried to find words, any words. If she could even just croak out “Go away”, she felt it would be enough. But she physically could not speak.

 

More knocking.

 

“Emma, sweetheart, I know you’re crying. Please, just let me in.”

 

_Stop crying! Say something, she’s going to come in, she’s going to see you like this._

The knocking was grating on her brain along with the words swarming around in her brain. The blonde clutched her head in her hands, trying to make it all go away.

 

“Baby.”

 

 _She’s getting worried. Look at what you’re doing. Just stop crying, tell her to go away. Get yourself together!_  
  


“Emma, if you don’t answer me in five seconds, I’m opening the door.”

 

_At least reach for the lock._

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t move another muscle. The only thing she could see were her own hands as the door opened. The teenager sat there sobbing and clutching her head.

 

“Emma,” Mary breathed. She knelt before her, taking Emma’s hand off of her head. The sight in front of her, broke her heart.

 

Her daughter had tears streaming down her face along with mascara and the other makeup she had chosen to wear that day. Sobs were escaping her lips, but she didn’t seem on the verge of a panic attack.

 

“Oh baby.” Mary dropped to her knees and tried to hug her, only to get pushed away.

“G…go away,” Emma managed to choke out.

“I’m not going anywhere.” The brunette attempted to hug her again. She knew it wasn’t what Emma needed, but she couldn’t let her just sit there and cry. Once again, she was pushed away.

 

Emma laid her head on the cool tile, the tears feeling warm against her cheeks. A hand was placed on her back and that just made her cry harder.

 

“Stop!”

“Baby…”

“Stop…stop trying to fix this! You…you can’t!”

 

Mary bit her lip, slowly rubbing her daughter’s back.

 

“Maybe I can’t,” she whispered. “But I’m not leaving you alone.”

 

And so, the woman sat there, feeling like she was being tortured by each sob that escaped Emma’s lips. Each one was like a knife to her heart. The pain from this hurt worse than anything she ever thought could. It wasn’t even the fact that her daughter was crying, though that hurt too. It was that she couldn’t comfort her, that nothing she would do could calm her down. The girl didn’t pull away from the hand on her back and eventually, she lifted her head up and into her mom’s lap. Mary’s ran her free hand through her daughter’s golden blonde hair, the tears running down her face.

 

“I’m sorry, Emma,” Mary whispered, barely being able to be heard. “I’m sorry I don’t know how to help you.”

 

They couldn’t see each other, so Mary’s only sign that her daughter had fallen asleep was the fact that the sobs and sniffles stopped. The mother continued to cry, not stopping the movements of rubbing her back and stroking her hair.

 

David, who had stepped out to go pick up some milk, returned to quiet. It wasn’t anything unusual, but he felt something was wrong. He walked up the stairs and heard his wife’s soft cries. Following the sound, he ended up in his daughter’s bedroom. The sight before him, nearly knocked the wind out of him.

 

Mary was sitting there, crying as she tried to comfort her already sleeping daughter. Emma was asleep, her head on her mother’s lap, covered with tears and mascara. He gently knelt before his wife and wiped her tears away.

 

“What is going on?” He asked, softly.

“I don’t know,” Mary replied, her voice just as low, though it came out groggy. “I just found her so upset and I couldn’t calm her down.”

“Clearly you did,” he gestured to what she was doing.

“I don’t think that was it. I think she was just so tired.”

“We’ll try to talk to her when she wakes up, here, let me take her.” David tried to move her, but Mary suddenly held her closer.

“I’m her mother and I couldn’t help her feel better.”

“I know,” David said, his eyes filling with tears of his own. “It’s a terrible feeling.”

“I can’t…I can’t let her go.”

“Please, just for a few minutes, you two are going to get so stiff in this position. I promise, once I have her in bed, you can go back to what you’re doing.”

 

Mary sniffled, but nodded, slowly releasing her grip. David lifted his daughter into his arms, using his knees to stand up. He stared down at his baby girl, feeling guilt for not being there for her through it. She stirred in her sleep and for the first time, he got a good look at her arms. A gasp escaped his lips, examining all the scars. None looked infected, but it was almost like her tiny arms were running out of room.

 

His wife was standing by this point and saw what he did. The tears started up again.

 

“How could we have been so blind?” She said.

“She was just really good at hiding it,” he replied.

“I’m calling Archie, I’ll see if he could get her in tomorrow.”

“Let’s just see how she is when she wakes up. We can’t force her into anything and we certainly can’t fix it, but we can let her know we’re going to do what we can to help her through this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your reviews! I know these past few chapters have been pretty heavy, so I appreciate all the great feedback. I hope to have the next chapter written and up soon.


	31. Cry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all once again for the awesome reviews, they really do make my day. When I started this story, I wasn’t sure how many people were going to like it. It makes me feel so good to see that people do! It was requested to see more Mama Snow. I do try to give them both equal time, but I did try to write this chapter as Mama Snow centric (though there is a Daddy Charming bit that I couldn’t resist to add).

Once David laid Emma down on her bed, Mary grabbed a wet washcloth and carefully wiped the makeup and sticky tears from her daughter’s face. Emma stirred in her sleep, but didn’t wake up. The mother sighed, running a thumb over her now dry cheek. Her daughter looked so helpless, so distraught.

 

Her eyes fell to her arms, covered with scars. Some looked older, others brand new. Mary ran a finger over one cut that hadn’t even scarred over yet.

 

_She must have just done it._

She tried to think of Emma’s wardrobe choices over the past couple of weeks. It didn’t seem anything out of the ordinary until earlier that day. Mary kicked herself for not pushing further on Emma’s shirt choice that morning. She had thought it was odd but didn’t want a battle.

 

David returned and sat on the other side of his daughter. “I got rid of all her razors,” he said, softly. “If she wants to shave or anything, she’ll have to come to you.”

“That’s probably best.” Mary’s eyes didn’t leave her daughter, as she stroked her hair.

“Why would she do this?”

“She told me after the first time, that it was just a way of using one pain to distract from the other.”

The blonde frowned. “Our baby girl is hurting so badly. I don’t even get why. Is it Ingrid?”

“I don’t know, maybe? But even after that, she was clinging to us at first.”

 

David’s eyes moved to the journal sitting on top of Emma’s nightstand. He slowly picked it up and traced the design on the cover. Mary finally looked up and saw what he was holding.

 

“David…” She began, her eyes widening a bit. “No.”

“Archie told her to write down her feelings in here. We may be able to figure out what’s going on in her head.”

“That’s private.” Mary carefully took it out of his hands and set it back down. “This is what she shares with Archie and if she wants to tell us, then she will.”

“Mary, she is _cutting herself_ ,” David replied, his voice still quiet but also a little harsh. “I am all for respecting privacy, but she is putting herself in danger. She already attempted suicide once, we can’t let this happen again.”

 

The brunette sighed and leaned down, picking it back up. She knew her husband was right. She’d rather have Emma be mad at her then continue going through all of this. She skipped through the pages until a particular name caught her eye. Ingrid. It was dated around the time that she tried out for track.

 

_I hate the way I look. I hate the fact that I look like her, like them actually. Why can’t I look like Mama? But even with my new hair, nothing is changing. I hate them. I can’t be like them. Every time I look in the mirror, I just see Helga and Ingrid. The only thing that could change things, is the one thing I said I’d never do again. Why did they have to do this? What did I do? Why was I even born? I thought writing all this down would help, but it doesn’t. Screw this._

Mary’s breath caught. Her daughter, her beautiful little girl, hated the way that she looked. That’s why she had dyed her hair. Ingrid had brought up so many painful memories for her daughter, she had brought out so many insecurities.

 

“What does it say?” David asked.

 

Mary shook her head, biting down at her lip as she stroked Emma’s curls.

 

“My beautiful, beautiful baby girl,” she whispered.

“Mary?” David took the journal and read the passage that had his wife so solemn. He lowered the book soon after, putting a hand on his wife’s back. “We should’ve known.”

“How could we have?”

“It’s almost like she…like she hates herself.”

“She is so beautiful,” Mary said. “She can be stubborn and hardheaded, but those are good things. And she’s so kind to others, I just…how can she not like who she is?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Archie can help us understand. He’ll be able to help us, help her,” he whispered in her ear, kissing her temple.

“How are we going to broach this? When I was trying to comfort her, she just pushed me away and told me I couldn’t fix anything.”

“Well, then we don’t try to fix it.” Mary gave him a curious look. “We just listen. We don’t try to make it better with anything, as hard as it is.”

She nodded, knowing he was right. “It’s going to be hard. I hate seeing her in so much pain.”

“I know, but it’s what she needs right now.”

 

The two didn’t seem to sit there much longer before Emma’s eyes opened. She saw her parents sitting there and felt her bare arms. The memories of her meltdown from earlier came flooding back. She winced, seeing her journal opened beside her.

 

“Emma,” Mary spoke first. “We need to talk.”

“I…”

“Just, please,” her mother bit her lip. “Your father and I are willing to listen. We won’t try to fix anything.” She glanced over at David, who nodded. “We just want to hear what’s going on.”

“Please Princess,” David pleaded. “Just tell us.”

Emma gnawed on her lip, surprised by their reaction. She was expecting hugs and being told it was going to be okay. “You promise you won’t?”

“Yes,” he replied. “We just want to help and we can’t get you the correct kind unless you tell us.”

Emma sighed. “I don’t know how to describe it. I can’t...I can’t talk to you about it.”

“You can tell us anything,” Mary said.

“I can’t, not this,” she whispered. “I mean, clearly, you already read my journal.”

“We only did that because…”

“Because I cut myself.” She wasn’t even mad that her parents had done it, she didn’t have the energy.

“Baby, you are beautiful…” Mary started to say, realizing that she was trying to fix things, so she stopped.

“Look,” David said, putting his hand on top of his wife’s. “Maybe we can’t fix things, but maybe if you talked to someone else. Someone who won’t have the same impulse as us.”

“You mean Archie?” Emma asked.

“Yes. Baby, I can’t imagine what you’re going through and maybe we can’t help, but you do need it. You don’t deserve to go through all of this.”

The blonde bit her lip. “Do either of you have to be there?”

“Not if you don’t want us to, same as always,” Mary whispered.

 

Emma slowly nodded. She wasn’t sure entirely if she wanted to talk to Archie about it, but for a while he did help. Unlike her parents, he let her talk and while he did try to help, it was different. He also didn’t act like he could fix things right away.

 

“We just want you to know,” David said. “We love you, so much. And we know we can’t fix everything, but we are here for you.”

“Whatever you need,” Mary added, in a soothing voice. “Whether it be a hug or talking…or just, being there.”

 

Emma looked between the two of them. She had missed this, she had missed them. Even if they couldn’t make things better, she needed to know that they were going to be there. Though, despite all that, she still had her doubts, given one other thing…

 

Mary looked at her, with love and concern in her eyes. “Can I ask you something else?” Emma shrugged. “Not that I particularly enjoyed you biting our heads off, but you stopped talking…period. Is there a…was there a reason for that.” Emma looked away, pulling down her sleeves. “Sweets…”

“You didn’t tell me that you got the job,” Emma whispered so softly, it couldn’t be heard.

“What was that?”

“You didn’t tell me that you got the job!” It came out a lot harsher than she originally intended, but by then, it was too late.

 

Mary’s eyes lowered to the bedspread, guilt filling her.

 

“How did you…”

“Lily. She was in the office and said that someone else was talking about it,” Emma went on, the pain of the memory coming back. “I didn’t…I didn’t understand at first why you wouldn’t tell me.”

“Emma, I…”

But the girl continued, her voice speeding up. “And then…then I left school and I was talking to Bae and he pointed out…he pointed out that I was acting just like _her_.”

“Her?” Mary asked.

“Helga. And he was right…whenever she got mad she would…she would take it out on me. Even if it wasn’t my fault. And I hated that, because I don’t want to be like her! But I am, and I hate that.”

 

Suddenly, the realization fell on top of both of her parents. Tears were clouded in Emma’s eyes as her voice started to crack.

 

“I just…I just thought…I didn’t want to say anything bad anymore…I wanted you…but I didn’t want you to…to…” She started blubbering as the tears fell down her face.

“You didn’t want me to try to fix everything,” Mary whispered and Emma nodded, crying harder. The mother couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled her daughter close and for once Emma didn’t pull away. Mary hugged her tight and slowly rubbed her back. “It’s okay, cry, you can cry as much as you need to.” David gave her a weird look and she ignored him. “I know a hug isn’t going to fix it, but I can’t just sit here and watch you. So, I’ll hold you and you can just let it all out baby, it’s okay.”

 

Emma buried her head into her mother’s shoulder and continued to cry. She didn’t feel the need to be brave in that moment or to act like everything was better for her parents. She clung to her, feeling free to finally be able to do all of it. To be protected, while also being able to cry.

 

David watched in amazement, wondering just how his wife had done it. Emma wasn’t pushing her away, she wasn’t calming down, yet it seemed to be what she needed. He cupped the back of her head, moving closer to them as he also rubbed his daughter’s back.

 

Eventually, the tears went away and Emma stayed with her head buried in her mother’s shoulder. She wasn’t necessarily feeling any better, but it was at least good to get it out. Mary continued to rub her back, kissing the top of her head.

 

“I am sorry I didn’t tell you baby, I was going to. I just wanted to wait until you were…”

“Weren’t acting like a bitch,” Emma mumbled.

“Emma, please don’t talk about yourself like that,” David said in a soothing voice. She sighed and buried her head deeper into Mary’s shoulder.

“Baby, I am sorry,” she said. “I was going to tell you.”

“I know,” the teen whispered.

 

They sat in silence for a moment until Mary finally spoke up.

 

“You need to eat.”

“Mama…”

“Emma, please. I know all you’ve been through is hard, but you’re going to make yourself sick from not eating.”

 

Emma sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to fight it. Mary stood up, kissing her forehead before leaving. David carefully moved back the bedspread and put it on top of Emma, slowly tucking her in.

 

“Daddy?”

The word washed over him like warm water. He hadn’t heard it in weeks. “Yeah?”

“I um…” Emma bit her lip. “I still think I was right about the whole track thing…”

David sighed. “Emma, I really don’t want to talk about it…”

“Wait, please let me finish.” Her green eyes glanced down at her baby blanket. “I don’t think you were right, but I’m sorry I flipped out on you…and that I called you David.”

He smiled and bent down to kiss her forehead. Of course, he would love for her to realize she was wrong, but the apology meant more than she would ever know. He figured, in time she’d realize that she should’ve listened. Some of the lessons his mother taught him were just now sinking in him in his late 20s. “I forgive you, Princess.”

Emma looked up at him, curiously. She wasn’t expecting that. “You do?”

“I’ll always forgive you,” he said. “You’re my little girl.” He wiped away some of her stray tears. “No matter what, I’m here for you, okay?”

 

She slowly nodded and picked at a loose thread on her baby blanket. Mary returned a moment later, holding a bowl of reheated mac and cheese, handing it over to Emma. She slowly picked at it.

 

“Emma,” Mary said, her voice soft. “Please, eat.”

“I’m just not hungry,” Emma mumbled.

She sighed. “Baby, if you don’t eat, you’re going to get sick.”

“Mama…”

“Please, just a little bit.”

 

Emma bit her lip and took a bite. Her parents did their best to not watch her and she ate half of it, putting it on the bedside table.  Mary glanced at the clock.

 

“Alright, maybe it’s time for bed,” she said, softly.

David kissed Emma’s head. “Sweet dreams, Princess. I love you.” He got up and looked at Mary, having a silent conversation with her, knowing she wasn’t going anywhere. Once David left, Mary tucked her daughter in tighter and laid beside her, carding her fingers through her hair.

“Mama,” Emma looked up at her.

“Can I ask you something?” Mary asked. She took Emma’s silence as a yes. “Did you take two of your pills?”

Emma turned pale. “I um, just couldn’t sleep one night…”

“Emma,” she looked into her eyes. “That’s very dangerous. You can’t take them unless you’re having a panic attack.”

“I know,” the teen whispered, looking down at her hands. Mary tipped her chin up. “I’m not going to do it again.”

“Well, I’ve got them in a secure place now,” her mother explained. “So, if you need them, Dad and I will get them.”

Emma too exhausted to argue, just nodded. She knew her mother was right, anyway. It had been stupid of her to take them when she wasn’t having a panic attack.

Mary slowly rubbed her back. “Just try to get some sleep.”

“Why are you being so nice to me? I was so horrible to you,” she mumbled. “I pushed you away when you didn’t do anything…”

“Hey, I’m always going to be here for you,” Mary whispered. “No matter what, in any way that you need.”

Emma nodded, curling up against her. Mary did her best to stifle a content sigh as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. “I love you.”

For the past 2 weeks, Mary had been counting how many words her daughter said to her. But those three were the ones she had been wanting to hear the most. “I love you too sweets,” she replied, kissing the top of her head. “Get some sleep, beautiful girl.”

* * *

Mary sat next to David in Archie’s waiting room two days later, it was the soonest the therapist could see her. Things hadn’t necessarily gotten better for Emma, but she was at least talking more. They didn’t expect things to magically get better and hoped this was just the right to start to get her better, no matter how long it took.

 

She glanced over at her husband, who was pretending to read a magazine. She had to stifle a giggle at what it was. Clearly, Archie stocked it for his female clients.

 

“So, figure out how to clear those pores?”

David looked up. “Huh?”

“David, you’re reading Cosmo.”

“Oh.” He laughed in spite of himself and set it down. “I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“I know, me either.”

“I don’t know why I’m nervous. Archie can help her, right?”

“He has before. It’s just going to take some time.”

“I know that.”

 

The door opened and the therapist stepped out.

 

“Mary Margaret, David, would you two join us please?”

 

Mary wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and stood up with her husband, following the two men inside. The couple sat on either side of Emma, who looked like she had been crying.  Mary instinctively took her hand and squeezed it. Archie gave them all a small smile as he settled into his own chair.

 

“So,” he said, grabbing his notes. “Emma and I have talked at length, actually we’ve been talking about this for a few sessions. Emma, would you like to tell your parents?”

 

The blonde bit her lip and shook her head no.

 

“Would you like me to?”  


Emma nodded.

 

“Okay. Emma has shared with me that she does feel that she has a lot in common with her biological mother and that bothers her. However, that’s not all. She’s come to terms with her PTSD and her past, but she still hates that it’s a part of her.”

“That’s to be expected though, right?” Mary asked.

“Yes, but it’s deeper than that. Now, Emma knows that you love her and she definitely loves the two of you, very much. She actually didn’t feel like she could ever love anyone, but she does.”

David smiled at his daughter and kissed her head. However, the smile faded when he felt there was a but coming on. “But?”

“But, Emma does not love herself.”

 

It seemed so obvious, yet it still hit both of the parents like a ton of bricks. They both looked down at her daughter, who was studying her fingernails.

 

“That is what is majorly contributing to her depression. She hates every part of herself, whether it’s her looks or what’s on the inside. She doesn’t know how she got this way and she’s willing to work on it, but it’s going to take time,” Archie continued.

“Of course,” Mary said. “We’ll help her any way we can.”

“That’s another thing. Emma, maybe you would like to say this?” He gave her a knowing look and she sighed, still refusing to make eye contact with either of her parents.

“I…I need you guys to not try to fix this. There are going to be days when I’m fine and days when I’m…I guess sad is the word for it,” she said, her voice unsteady. “And I need that to be okay, if hugs and hot chocolate don’t make it better, I need you to understand that.”

Mary and David exchanged a silent conversation, almost seeming confused. “Well…” Mary said slowly. “I can’t say it’ll be easy, but we do and will understand.” Emma let out a sigh of relief, which added to their guilt. They wondered how she thought they would respond to it, as if they would be mad or something. Mary gently rubbed her back and kissed her head. “We’ll do whatever you need, baby girl.”

“This is going to take time,” Archie spoke up. “But, Emma can get through this, with my help and your support. There’s just not going to be an easy fix.”

Mary stroked her daughter’s hair. “We can accept that.”

* * *

David had to go to work after the session. He once again offered to have Graham or Leroy cover, but Emma said she’d be fine. Working on trying to not always attempt to fix things, he agreed, even though he would’ve much rather gone home to comfort his daughter after a hard session.

 

Emma sat on the couch, her knees drawn up to her chest. It had felt good to finally say what she needed to. She was surprised by how her mom and dad had reacted, she thought they’d insist on making it better or that they’d be offended. The fact that they were willing to work with her meant everything. In the system, she was expected to paste a smile on her face and act like everything was okay. Mary letting her know the other night that it was okay to cry had been so freeing. Tears were considered weak where she came from. It was good to not hide the fact that she needed to let it out.

 

Letting out a deep breath, she got up and headed to her room. Mary was in the kitchen making dinner and she just wanted to relax before that. But when she got to her room, something was missing from her bed. She tossed back her comforter and sheets, only to come up empty. She knocked the pillows off her bed and checked in the cases, nothing was there either.

 

Every drawer was removed, every possible place checked, even her parents’ bedroom. Tears were threatening to fall down her face. This was the one thing, the only good thing, from her childhood.

 

She thought about asking Mary, but didn’t want to seem like a little kid. Doing her best to calm down, she slowly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. She’d have to search later.

 

“Emma?” Mary saw her face. “Baby, are you okay?” She could tell that she couldn’t be upset over the last session.

“Um, fine.”

“Emma.” Mary walked over and rubbed her arm. “Is this something I can help with?”

 

Archie had brought that up as well. While there were things that Mary and David couldn’t fix, there were things that they could. Emma had to get used to asking for help.

 

“I um…it’s stupid.”

“I’m sure it’s not. Tell me.”

 

Emma squirmed a bit and her eyes shifted.

 

“I went to go lay down…just for a little bit and um…”

 

It suddenly dawned on Mary. She gently took her daughter by the hand and lead her into the laundry room. Opening up the dryer, she pulled out the blanket. Emma let out a sigh of relief, a little louder than she expected.

 

“I’m sorry,” Mary said, frowning. “I meant to tell you, I figured you were going to want it after your session and I figured I’d make it nice and toasty for you. You’ve been here so long, I should’ve done this sooner.” Emma gently took the blanket, realizing it was in better shape than it had been before. Any stain was gone, the frays were fixed. Emma had never attempted to wash it, out of fear that she’d somehow destroy it. Yet, Mary had known exactly what to do. She held it close, it was warm. No one had ever cared enough about her blanket right that. She wrapped her arms around Mary instantly and her mom smiled, hugging her back.

“Thank you,” Emma mumbled.

“It’s no problem. I hope you don’t mind that I fixed the frays and stuff, I figured that thing has been through a lot in 13 years.”

“It’s perfect…it has a touch of my mom now.”

Mary beamed and kissed her head. “Go lay down, I’ll get you when dinner’s ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to add; Emma’s depression is really an arc that will never be “over”. It will always be a part of her and this story, but as she learns to cope and deal with it, things may change. Felt like mentioning it, so if I do start showing other stuff, it doesn’t seem like I’m rug sweeping. Our girl has a lot of work to get through, as Archie said, it’ll take time. I hope you all liked Emma’s resolution with her parents. As much as I like writing angst, I have to admit it was very refreshing to write this chapter. Anyway, thank you all for the awesome reviews and let me know what you want to see in future chapters!


	32. Second Sunday In May

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope all of you have had a great Thanksgiving if you celebrate! I didn’t do much, just had a quiet dinner with my parents and brother and am now waiting (rather impatiently) for midnight, so I can watch the Gilmore Girls revival! As for this chapter, it does cover Mother’s Day. Just a head’s up because I know some people don’t like reading about holidays after the fact.

Emma walked alone, along Main Street. She had just had an appointment with Archie and as usual, it had taken a lot out of her. Both of her parents had to work, so she went in alone. Now she had to go to the station and hang out there for a couple of hours. She was thinking about what she had discussed, her birth mother and Mother’s Day since it was coming that Sunday. It was never a big deal in their household until she started school. She had made a card for Helga, which went horribly. It had been thrown in the trash and she had basically been laughed at. Every year after that, she never bothered to give one to her foster mothers. This year, she wanted to do something special for Mary, despite it being a hard day for her. It wasn’t about her, it was about her mom. And given all her mom had done for her, she wanted to do something nice for her.

 

“Emma.” She winced at the voice, knowing just who it was. It was someone she had been able to avoid for a good long, while.

“Bae, I um, really have to get to the station…”

“Please,” he bit his lip. “You’ve been avoiding me for weeks.”

“My dad is going to start freaking out. They hate having me out of their sight.” That part was not a lie. Ever since her whole meltdown, they had been hovering over her constantly. They didn’t expect it to fix anything, it was more for their peace of mind. She wouldn’t have been surprised if David had timed the walk from Archie’s office to the station and knew how long it would take.

“I just wanted to say I was sorry,” Bae quickly said. “I should never have compared you to her.”

“You were right, so…”

“No,” he shook his head. “Even if it was right, I shouldn’t have said it. I was trying to help but obviously, I made things worse.”

 

Emma shifted, sticking her hands in her pockets. She wasn’t upset with Bae, she just didn’t want him to know what his words had caused.

 

“Can you forgive me?”

She gave him a small smile. “I already have.”

Confusion crossed across the 15-year-old’s face. “Then why have you been avoiding me?” Emma sighed, shaking her head. “Emma, come on. We tell each other stuff.”

“I’ve been avoiding everyone, I just haven’t felt that great lately.” Again, not a total lie. “I’m going to be fine. I’m sorry I ignored you.”

Baelfire studied her face for a minute. “Okay. So…we’re good.”

“Yeah, we’re good.” It was going to take time for her to feel comfortable around him again, without feeling guilt.

He smiled, though he wasn’t thoroughly convinced. “Why don’t we go get some hot chocolate at Granny’s?”

“I can’t. My parents have been really protective lately.” Bae raised an eyebrow. “Long story, but I promise, soon.”

“Soon,” he repeated.

 

Emma finished her walk to the station, feeling a bit more confident with the situation. Baelfire and she could get their friendship back to normal, eventually.

 

“Hey Princess,” David said, standing up at his desk once she entered his office. “I was starting to get worried.”

“Sorry, I ran into Lily and you know she likes to talk and talk.” Emma knew her father was apprehensive about Bae after what had happened. He knew that his daughter made the choice to cut, but he still didn’t like that he had said all of it.

The sheriff shook his head, smiling. “I do, how was therapy?”

Emma shrugged, sitting down. “It was therapy. I sat and talked, Archie wrote stuff down and answered.”

David gave her a look as he settled back into his own chair. He was really working on hard on not trying to fix everything, he was. But it was hard seeing his baby in so much pain. “And school?”

“It was school. I sat, the teachers talked, I took notes.”

“Is this your way of answering everything now?”

Emma gave him a small smile. “If it is, would you be annoyed?”

“I’m just glad to hear your voice again.” And seeing that little smile about made his heart melt. There hadn’t been that many of them as of late.

Emma rolled her eyes slightly. “So, um, Mother’s Day is Sunday.”

“It is.”

“I already got Mama’s present. I hope she likes it.”

“I’m sure she’ll love whatever it is you got her. She’s just excited she gets to celebrate Mother’s Day at all.” David noticed her face. “Something bothering you, Princess?”

“No, it’s nothing…I just want to make sure it’s really special. Mama’s been so great to me and I’ve been a terrible daughter.”

“Emma, you have not been a terrible daughter,” David said, softly.

“Yes, I have. I treated her terribly for weeks for no reason, caused her to always worry about me.”

David sighed. “Em, Mama loves you so much. Yes, it hasn’t been easy lately, but she wants to be there for you. Try not to stress about this.”

 

The blonde teen merely nodded and started pulling out stuff from her backpack. David watched her for a minute. He knew that she was still beating herself up for everything and wished he could do something to fix it.

 

 _Stop doing that._ A part of him said to himself. That was going to take some time.

* * *

Mary awoke that Sunday morning to kisses being pressed against her lips. Her eyes flickered open and she found David leaning over, a grin on his face. She yawned, a grin of her own going across her lips.

 

“To what do I owe this wakeup?” She asked.

“Happy Mother’s Day.”

Mary grinned wider. “It is Mother’s Day, isn’t it?”

“Uh huh.” He kissed her again. “And we have a child, so you know what that means?”

“I should get up and make her breakfast?” She sat up.

“No way,” he pulled her back down into his arms and rest his forehead against hers. “You are going to be pampered today.”

“Well, how can I argue with that?” Her lips connected with his once again.

“You can’t. Or I won’t let you do the same on Father’s Day.”

“Oh, you don’t even know what I have planned for you, mister.”

He smirked. “I have two presents for you. It’s time for part one.” He kissed her lips again, his fingers fidgeting with the buttons on her nightgown.

 

A little later, Mary laid her head against his chest, smiling up at him.

 

“Part two,” he whispered, leaning towards the nightstand and pulling out a small box, handing it over.

Mary opened it and gasped at what was inside: a charm bracelet with various charms. One was Emma’s birth stone, the next one that read “Mom”, a red apple one (since she was a teacher, soon to be vice principal) and finally, a snowflake with tiny diamonds on the branches. “David, it’s beautiful. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.” He kissed her again before getting up. She went to follow, but he gently pushed her back down. “No ma’am, you have to stay in bed.”

“Why?”

“Emma and I are going to make you breakfast. She wanted to give you breakfast in bed.”

Mary smiled. “Aw.” She thought of all of the Mother’s Days they hadn’t gotten with her. She could picture a younger Emma pouring a big bowl of cereal overfilled with milk and very burnt toast. She was glad that she still got some of those childish moments with her daughter.

 

David headed down the stairs, smelling that someone was already cooking. He braced himself as he entered the kitchen. It was a mess, flour everywhere, broken egg shells on the counter. In the corner was a plate of biscuits with gravy and Emma stood nearby, putting a pan in the oven. She was also covered in flour, from her cheeks to her hair and even her pajamas. He pursed his lips to fight off a laugh and pulled out his phone, quickly snapping a picture.

 

“Emma.” She quickly shut the oven and turned around. “I thought we were going to make breakfast together.”

“I woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep,” she explained.

“You could’ve just came and laid with us, it’s still pretty early.”

Emma shook her head. “I was fine, I was up anyway.”

“Well…I appreciate you doing all the work, but now you look like Frosty the Snowman.” He patted her cheek, showing her hand.

She rolled her eyes.  “I’ll clean up before I go with you…the kitchen too.”

David couldn’t help but laugh. She just looked so precious. He kissed her cheek, wiping off his lips afterwards, causing her to poke out her tongue. “What’d you just put in the oven?”

“Mama’s cake. Why don’t you go back upstairs? I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Are you sure you can handle it by yourself?”

“Yes, Daddy. Go, I’m fine.”

 

He eyed her suspiciously, but didn’t want to push. He knew how important this day was to Emma, she wanted everything to be perfect for Mary. So, he simply kissed her head and headed upstairs. Mary looked up from her book, arching an eyebrow.

 

“Where’s Emma?”

“She’s going to clean and bring the food up.” He sat beside her and showed her the pictures he had taken. Mary’s heart melted as an aw escaped her lips. “She looks adorable, doesn’t she?”

“She does, but that’s such a mess. I’ll go help her,” Mary went to get up, but David grabbed hold of her hand. “David, I don’t care if it’s Mother’s Day…”

“It’s not about that, totally. Emma wants today to be perfect. She wants to do it on her own.”

“It’s my first Mother’s Day, I’ll love whatever it is she does.”

“I know, but…” David sighed. “I wasn’t going to tell you this, but she feels bad.”

“Feels bad about what?”

“About all that’s been going on lately.”

Mary frowned. “But that’s not her fault, she didn’t ask for any of this. I feel bad that we can’t help her more.”

“I know, but I think the best thing is to just let her do what she wants. It may be our only way of helping right now.”

 

Mary sighed and tipped her head back. She knew her husband was right, she just wished she could do more to get rid of her daughter’s guilt. She would do anything for Emma, no matter what.

 

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Mary called Emma to come in and she entered, now changed (though she still had some flour in her hair). In her hands was a tray with enough food to probably feed an army. There were the biscuits with gravy and a ton of fruit.

 

“Happy Mother’s Day,” Emma said, giving her mom a smile.

Mary beamed. “Thank you, sweets.” She watched Emma slowly walk over, only to nearly trip. David reached over and took the tray from his daughter. She sighed as he set it in front of Mary, but was also feeling slightly grateful. “This all smells delicious. You made it all by yourself?”

“Yeah, the biscuits and everything. It’s a recipe I learned in one of my group homes,” Emma sat on the edge of the bed, only to get pulled closer by Mary, who kissed her cheek. Before she could say anything else, Mary dusted her curls.

“Flour.”

Emma blushed. “Sorry, I tried not to make a mess, but it’s hard. I don’t know how you do it and stay so clean!”

Mary laughed. “Years of practice, baby.” She gave some food to David and offered some to her daughter, but she declined it, saying she had already eaten. Mary still put some fruit on a plate, insisting she eat. “I doubt you had any fruit.”

“You’re lucky it’s your day,” Emma mumbled.

Mary rolled her eyes and took a bite of the biscuits and gravy. She didn’t mean to sound so surprised, but she wasn’t sure what to expect. Emma hadn’t ever cooked before. Every time they baked together, she was there to supervise. “These are really great, baby.”

“Totally delicious,” David agreed.

Blush filled Emma’s cheek once again. “It’s nothing special.”

“It is,” Mary insisted. “They’re better than my biscuits.”

“I don’t know about that…”

“They are. And the gravy is awesome, I haven’t had this in years. Do you think you could teach me?”

Emma was in shock for a minute. She had never taught anyone how to make anything before. “Um, of course. If you really want me to.”

“I do. I’d say teach your father, but he’s a lost cause with anything outside pancakes.”

“Hey!” David protested. “Don’t be mean.”

“Darling, it’s not Father’s Day.”

“Emma, tell your mother to be nice.”

Emma shrugged. “Sorry Daddy, but it is Mama’s special day.”

David’s eyes narrowed as Mary pulled her daughter closer. “Looks like she’s a Mama’s Girl just as much as she is a Daddy’s Girl,” Mary said with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“Aw, now he’s jealous.”

“I am not jealous,” he replied as his baby blues rolled.

Emma giggled, it was sort of nice for them to be arguing over her in that way. “As I’ve said before, I don’t have favorites. I love you both equally.”

“But are you a Mama’s Girl or a Daddy’s Girl is the question,” Mary continued.

“I’m both.” Emma then blushed at admitting it. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to say it out loud. Especially since now she was receiving kisses on either cheek. She groaned. “Guys!”

“It’s Mother’s Day,” Mary reminded her. “I can do whatever I want.”

“Doesn’t excuse Dad,” she mumbled.

“I’m your dad and you just admitted to being my girl.”

“I take it back.”

“Too late.”

 

Once finished with breakfast, David insisted on doing the dishes, saying that Emma should relax since she almost tripped. Emma discretely checked her phone so she would know when to take the cake out of the oven. She realized it was probably going to be a challenge considering Mary had a tight grip around her waist. The teen wasn’t sure if it was her once again being clingy due to the past few weeks or because of the Mother’s Day celebration.

 

“Today has been great,” Mary whispered.

“It’s only 10 in the morning,” Emma pointed out.

“Still. It’s perfect because I get to spend it with my baby girl.”

Emma partially smiled. “Well you deserve it. I know I haven’t made things easy lately…”

“Emma,” Mary tightened her grip on her. “Life isn’t supposed to be easy. All I care about is you being happy and healthy.” She stroked her cheek. “It’s my job to take care of you.”

“I guess,” Emma mumbled.

“No I guess, it’s the truth. I love you, so much. And I’m grateful for today, but don’t think that I would change things for a minute. I will always be there for you.”

 

Emma nodded, leaning more into her mom. She still didn’t feel a hundred perfect about everything, the guilt would still be eating at her. Mary held back a sigh, knowing it would take more time. Eventually, she felt Emma getting out of her grip.

 

“Just where are you going little missy?”

“I have to work on your other surprise, you should get ready.”

 

She walked out of the room before Mary could pester her to find out exactly what it was. David was just finishing up with the dishes as she headed for the oven.

 

“Mitts, Emma,” he reminded her, his back towards her. She rolled her eyes as she grabbed them. “No eye rolling.”

“How did you…” Emma started to ask, a little shocked.

“Your mom’s not the only one with eyes in the back of her head.”

 

Emma slid on the oven mitts and opened it. Out of the corner in her eye, she could see David inching towards her. Holding back another eye roll, she removed the pan, noticing it was slightly burnt. A pout fell across her lips.

 

“It’s fine Em,” David assured her.

“It was supposed to be perfect.”

“It’s still edible.”

 

Emma slowly set it down as he shut the oven, making sure to turn it off.

 

“Edible isn’t good enough,” Emma mumbled.

“Yes, it is. I’m sure it’s going to be very delicious.”

“Mom doesn’t burn cakes.”

“You wanna hear a story?” Emma eyed him, curiously. “If you tell your mom this, you’re grounded for life, but she burnt a cake she made for our first anniversary.”

Emma cocked an eyebrow. “No, she didn’t. Mama wouldn’t do that.”

“She did.” David chuckled. “It wasn’t even edible. She felt so terrible. But I just hugged her and told her it was okay. Then I went to the store and bought one.”

“Mama hates store bought cakes.”

“She liked that one. But, either way, I didn’t care. It was just nice that she was trying to do something for me.”

Emma nodded and sighed. “I just wanted it to be perfect.”

“Your mom is going to love it, because you made it. I’m pretty sure you could’ve made her an Easy Bake oven cake and she’d be thrilled.”

The teen rolled her eyes. “You should never eat anything that comes out of those. A light bulb cooks the stuff, that can’t be healthy.”

“If you made it, she’d eat it. She so would’ve bought you one too.”

“Of course, she would’ve. And you both would’ve pretended to enjoy them.”

 

David smiled sadly, thinking back to his dream from earlier that year. How badly he wished that he could’ve had that time with Emma. But alas, it was not meant to be.

 

“What’s going on in here?” Mary asked as she entered the kitchen.

“Nothing.” Emma grabbed hold of the pan, completely forgetting that it would still be scorching hot. “Crap!” She shook her hand out and Mary ran over, gently taking it in her hand to inspect. “Wait Mom, it’s fine…”

Mary ignored her. There was a small mark there. “David, can you get me a bowl of cold water?”

“Mama, I can get that.”

Once again, she was ignored as she was lead into the living room, having to lay down on the couch. Mary took the bowl from David and gently put Emma’s hand in it. Emma nearly yelped at how cool it was. “Just for five minutes, baby.”

“Mom, it’s fine. I don’t need all of this.”

“I just want to make sure it doesn’t get any worse than this.” The blonde rolled her eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, missy.”

“You don’t need to fuss over me.”

“I’m your mom, it’s what I always do.”

“But it’s Mother’s Day,”

“Even more reason for me to do so.”

Emma sighed. “I’m not going to win here, am I?”

“No, the sooner you realize that, the easier it’ll be on you.” Mary smiled. “So, what was that anyway?”

“Just a cake.”

“A cake, huh? Smelled like chocolate.”

“Well I knew that was your favorite…”

Mary smiled wider. “Aw baby, you didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to. As Dad pointed out, you missed the Easy Bake oven phase of my life.”

“It’s not too late for that, you know.”

“Yes, it is. Plus, I wouldn’t even eat anything that came from one, why would you?”

“Because my baby made it.”

 

After about 10 minutes (Mary insisted, just in case), Emma was allowed to get back up. The burn was doing better and didn’t require any cream at the moment. The teen got her father to distract her mother (and actually convince her that she would be okay alone) so she could frost the cake. She carefully tucked it into a basket along with some sandwiches that David had made.

 

“Alright,” David said as Emma reentered the room. “This is where I leave you two.”

Mary frowned. “I thought you didn’t have to work today.”

“I don’t, but this is a day for mothers, so you and Emma are going to spend some time together.”

Emma nodded. “We’re going to get pedicures.”

Mary beamed, but then it faded. She had been asking Emma to do this for awhile now, but she always declined. “Are you sure?”

“Uh huh. It’s my gift to you, you’ve wanted to do it with me for some time.”

“I just want you to be comfortable.”

“I’ll be fine. And then we’re going to have a picnic.”

 

Mary couldn’t believe that Emma had planned an afternoon out. She wasn’t sure what to expect, given all Emma was going through. She didn’t care what they did, as long as they were together.

 

“If that’s okay,” Emma said, suddenly. She was getting worried that this isn’t what Mary wanted to do.

“It’s perfect.”                                                                

“Oliver and I are gonna have a little guy time,” David told them, scooping up the kitten.

“Wow David, you’re so cool,” Mary teased. “Your only friend is a cat.”

“He is not my only friend!”

“Just kidding you babe,” she gave him a quick kiss before leading Emma out the door. She drove to the salon where Emma gave her the gift card. She began to look over the colors and noticed her daughter was a little overwhelmed. “Have you ever gotten a pedicure before?”

Emma shook her head. “I used to steal my foster sister’s nail polishes for manicures and you’ve given me a few since I got here, but never anything with my feet.”

“Well, I’m getting pink. I think red would look nice on you.”

Emma partially smiled. “Okay.” She selected a red with flicks of sparkles. Soon they were able to sit down, dipping their feet in the warm water.

 

During the process, Mary realized why Emma was so hesitant. She seemed to be extremely ticklish on her feet. She was giggling uncontrollably as the person removed any dead skin from the sole of her foot and squirming. Blush was also filling her cheeks though, and Mary could tell that it was embarrassing her. The brunette reached over and squeezed her hand.

 

“It’s okay, I used to be the same way.”

“Really?”

“Uh huh. Sometimes it still tickles a bit. In fact, and don’t tell Lily this, but one time I came with Mal and she uncontrollably laughing the entire time.”

Emma’s blush seemed to fade and she smiled at her mom. “It is nice…doing girly things with my mom.”

“It’s nice for me too, sweets,” Mary squeezed her hand again.

“Growing up, I used to be jealous of girls that got to do stuff with their moms. My foster mothers were never really the bonding type,” she mumbled.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that now. I seem to suffocate you with ideas.”

Emma giggled. “Maybe not completely suffocating.”

 

Once the pedicure was over, the two headed to the park. Emma pulled out the blanket and set up the sandwiches, chips, drinks and cake. They ate and chatted for a bit, about nothing in particular. The one thing they didn’t talk about was Emma’s progress in therapy. Mary did want to ask her, but figured they both could use a day of not worrying about it. She knew it would always be a part of Emma, but a part of not fixing things was allowing Emma to take a break. She wasn’t sure if all the happiness was genuine, but that was okay. She didn’t expect things to magically get better. She was just happy to have her daughter talking to her about some things at least.

 

The cake didn’t look the best. Emma had tried with the frosting, but normally that was what Mary did. Still, the mother loved it because her daughter had tried. And it was still tasty, despite it being slightly burnt.

 

“You’re just saying that,” Emma said.

“No, I’m not. It is.” Tears clouded Mary’s eyes and panic went across Emma’s face. “No, baby, these are just happy tears.” She wrapped an arm around her, kissing her temple.

“So, today’s been good?”

“It’s been perfect. Thank you, sweets.”

“You deserve it, Mom.” Emma gave her a smile and Mary could tell it was a real one. “You’re the mom I always dreamed of and more.”

By now, Mary was definitely crying as she squeezed her daughter closer to her. “I love you so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your awesome reviews! And I hope you enjoyed this for the most part fluffy chapter. =)


	33. Surgery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I have a small announcement. The next chapter will be the last one in this story. I do plan on doing the sequel which won’t be too far in the future in terms of the timeline. I know it might seem a little rushed, but I just don’t have any concrete ideas for full length chapters. I have considered opening up a different story all together, filled with one shots which would be like outtakes because I have little ideas that aren’t enough for chapters and it would just be skipping all over the place. (I’d take prompts for it, too) For example, I’m not covering their first Father’s Day in this one and it’s not because I prefer Mama Snow to Daddy Charming. I was only going to include one as it was so as not to be repetitive and people were requesting Mama Snow so that one won. I know some people don’t like time jumps, so these next two may not be your cup of tea. Anyway, I want to thank you all for reviewing and following this story and I hope you continue to do so. Thanks for listening to my rambling, haha. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on T.V. I do my best to Google medical information, but if I get something wrong, be kind!

A month came and went, the family continued to hit more milestones.  From their first Father’s Day (in which David was treated like a king by his two girls) to Emma’s graduation from middle school.  Emma wasn’t magically better, but she seemed to get better at letting her parents fix what they could, while they worked on accepting that to let what they couldn’t be. Archie was a huge help to them all. A part of Emma felt that she would always worry about being like her biological family, she still didn’t love herself. She had her good days, she had bad ones, there didn’t seem to be more of one than the other. Even on the good days, there were nagging thoughts, she was just able to cope easier then. It would be always be a part of her, she’d just have to learn to cope better.

 

Emma and Bae’s friendship was less awkward and they were returning to what they used to be. But things were slow, it was as if they both knew that their friendship was destined to be more. She wasn’t ready though and he knew that. Friendships go through periods of change, especially teenage ones, as the teens develop and grow. Lily and Ruby had noticed this, but their bonds with either person hadn’t changed, so they kept things to themselves.

 

Then came the day Emma was dreading more than anything. Just three short days after her graduation, she was getting surgery on her ankle. It would be mean being laid up for most of the summer, while also guaranteeing that she’d be able to join high school track. She was trying to find the good in all of it. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t putting off getting ready for the longest time that morning.

 

“Emma,” Mary called out, knocking on the door. “Come on sweets, we have to go.”

“I’m doing my hair,” Emma called back. In reality, she was sitting on her bed, staring at her nails. The doorknob began to twist and she jumped up, going to grab the brush, but it was too late, she was busted.

“Emma Ruth.” Mary’s eyes narrowed into her “Mom Look”.

“Um…I couldn’t find my brush.”

“Uh huh.” The brunette grabbed it. “Sit.”

“I can brush my own hair.”

“You didn’t though, just sit.”

Emma sighed and settled down onto her bed, allowing her mother to take over. “Where’s Dad?”

“Downstairs, eating…I mean, cleaning.”

The teen rolled her eyes. Since she was being put under for the surgery, Whale had instructed her not to eat after midnight. Her parents had been very careful about eating in front of her that morning. “You know I have no issue with you two eating, I’m just probably going to be moody after I wake up.”

Mary chuckled as she moved the brush through the golden locks. “I’ll tell you what, you can have whatever you want from Granny’s when that happened.”

“Grilled cheese and onion rings?”

“What else?” Mary winced when Emma groaned a bit as she brushed out a knot. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright, you’re being gentle, it’s not your fault I have lion mane,” she joked.

“You have very pretty hair. It’s fun to play with.” Mary kissed the top of her head. She noticed Emma was now staring at her arms. The scars had been a very sensitive issue. Some had faded completely, while others would probably be there for life, no matter how light, because of how deep she cut. Emma did her best to hide them, but it wasn’t always easy. And since she’d be wearing a gown in surgery, they’d be exposed. “Whale’s not going to say anything. He already knows.”

“About the ones I made a little after I first came here.”

“He’s a doctor, he won’t tell anyone or judge you for it.”

The teen nodded, rubbing the ones along her left arm. “Can you believe it’s almost been a year?”

“A year?”

“Since I came here.”

Mary smiled. It had gone by awfully quick. So much had changed. “It’s pretty crazy.” She set the brush down and kissed her cheek. “Best months of my life.”

Emma smiled for a moment and then it faded. “What if something goes wrong? With the surgery?”

“Nothing’s going to happen.”

“People get put under all the time and don’t wake up.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Mary tipped Emma’s head up to look at her. “You’re going to be just fine.”  


The mother would be lying if she said that it wasn’t worrying her too.  She had never been through a surgery with Emma. Lots of other scary moments sure, but no surgery. She wanted to be there, to watch Whale with a hawk. To have her bow and arrow in case he messed up. But that was just the protective mama bear in her. She knew deep down that her little girl was going to be just fine. And no matter what she felt, she had to keep a brave face.

 

“You’ll wake up,” Mary continued. “And me and Daddy will be right there, fussing over you and you can call us the most embarrassing parents alive.” That got her daughter smiling again. “There’s my favorite smile. Now come on, let’s get going.” She held out her hand and Emma accepted it, getting off the bed.

 

The drive to the hospital wasn’t as silent as Emma had hoped. Her parents kept talking to her about mindless things. She knew it was to distract her, but nothing could. She was nervous and would be until she woke up, completely fine.

 

After signing in, Emma was put in her room, which Mary instantly began setting up to make Emma feel more at home. She’d get to spend the 6 weeks at home, but she’d have to spend the night in the hospital. That didn’t necessarily thrill her either, so her parents had brought stuff to help her through it. There were pictures, her laptop, books and of course, her blanket.

 

“Gee Mary, she’s here for one night,” David teased, sitting next to Emma on the bed.

“I just wanted to be prepared,” she replied, not even picking on the fact that he was joking.

“Why do I have a feeling that you would’ve been that parent, the one with the overfilled diaper bag?”

“Because I so would’ve.”

Emma giggled, resting her head on her father’s shoulder. “Be nice to Mama.”

“I’d like to remind you that you’re a Daddy’s Girl, you should be on my side,” David joked.

“I side with either of you, depending,” Emma told him, sticking out her tongue.

David ruffled her hair. “Brat.” He looked down into her eyes and saw she wasn’t feeling as light hearted as she sounded. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking?”

“Because I know you, Emma Ruth. And you’re going to be just fine. Whale knows I’d kill him if he did anything wrong.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “That’s awfully aggressive.”

“Well it’s the truth, no one hurts my baby.”

 

Emma thought about the last time she had to have surgery. Her foster parents didn’t even stick around. Her social worker showed up near the end, since she had to know how Emma was doing, but that was about it. She spent Christmas alone, outside the nurse that visited her. When she woke up, she was so disoriented and in pain that she had asked for her mommy and daddy. She felt so embarrassed when she realized that, it wasn’t as if she had anyone. This time would be different. Her parents would be in the waiting room the entire time. She wouldn’t be alone when she woke up. If she asked for her mommy and daddy, they’d be right there. Though, she secretly hoped that she wouldn’t embarrass herself like that.

 

Eventually, the nurse came into have Emma change into her gown and prep her for surgery. David and Mary stepped out for the moment, returning as soon as they could. It would be the last time they’d see her for a few hours and even that seemed like way too long.

 

“We’ll be right out there,” Mary told her, kissing her forehead. “When you come out, you’ll have a fixed ankle.”

“And we’ll come see you as soon as we can,” David added, squeezing her hand. “You’re going to be okay, I promise. And I don’t break my promises.”

Emma half-smiled. “Okay.”

“I love you,” the couple told her, in almost perfect unison.

“I love you guys too.”

 

They gave her each one last kiss on the head and she was taken off to the O.R. Whale was waiting with the anesthesiologist.

 

“Alright Miss Emma, you ready for this?” Whale asked.

“I’d say no, but it seems that it’s time,” she joked.

The doctor laughed. “This is Dr. Fellows, he’ll be administrating your anesthesia.” Emma gave him a small wave and he held up the mask.

“I’m going to put this on your face and you can just count back from 100 for me, okay?” The teen nodded. She wanted to make this process as easy as possible, so it’d be done quicker. “Excellent.” He put it on for her.

“One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight…”

 

She couldn’t even get to the next number; her world had gone black.

* * *

Mary and David had been lead into the waiting room, left with nothing but their thoughts. Not too many people were there, so they had their choice at seating. Despite this, David chose to stand, then pace.

 

“David, sweetheart,” Mary said. He didn’t stop, but did glance over in her direction as a sign of acknowledgement. “Whale said this surgery could take two to three hours.”

“I’m aware.”

“Great, so are you also aware that if you pace the entire time, you will one, burn a hole in the floor and two, make me dizzy?”

The blonde sighed, sitting on the other side of her. “I’m sorry. I’m just nervous.”

“I am too. I trust Whale and it’s a routine surgery, tons of people get it every day…”

“Those people aren’t our daughter, though.”

“Exactly.” Mary fiddled with the fringe on her purse. “They had to put her under, that worries me more.”

“You know this would work out a lot better if we both weren’t helicopter parents.”

This got his wife laughing. “You’re probably right.”

“I really do think she’ll be just fine,” he said after a few beats of silence. “Well, physically.”

“She’ll be a terrible patient,” Mary joked.

“But she’ll have a good nurse.”

“Nurses, I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned the night shift.”

David chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. “Yes, dear.”

“Out of all of the things she could be operated on, this is lower on the list of concern I guess,” she mumbled, burying her head in his shoulder. “I don’t even want to know how we would’ve reacted to her emergency tonsillectomy.”

“On Christmas, no less.” He frowned. “And then she had no one there for her.”

“It’s different this time.” Mary patted his hand. “She has us.”

 

More silence, though it was a comfortable one. They didn’t feel the need to have to talk every minute, they just weren’t that type of couple. They could practically read each other’s thoughts by this point. They knew each other was nervous, yet trying to stay strong.

 

“I wish I could just do something more,” David said, finally. “Like, I know her room is all set up, I just want to…” The sheriff trailed off, trying not to use the words Archie as breaking him of.

“Fix it?” Mary offered, watching him cringe. “Yeah, I know. Me too. But we’re parents, it’s what we do. We’re not doctors though and even if we were, I’m pretty sure they can’t treat family.”

“How does that work for other professions? Like, are you going to be able to suspend Emma if she acts up when you’re her VP?” He asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Mary chuckled. “Yes, though I doubt she’d do anything for that to happen. Especially since she knows at home it’d be worse. Can cops arrest their children?”

“Oh, don’t even make me think about that,” he moaned.

Mary smirked. “What if when she starts driving, she speeds? Are you allowed to pull her over and give her a speeding ticket?”

“Well for one, she’s not driving, ever.”

“David.”

“I’m a sheriff and I studied criminal justice. I know the statistics. Teens driving is a terrible idea.”

“So, how do you propose she gets around?”

“Walking or we drive her.”

Mary patted his arm, sitting up a bit. “We’ll cross that bridge when she turns 16.”

“That’s a long time coming.”

“2 years,” she reminded him.

“There are days when she seems so much younger than 14, doesn’t it? Not that I’m complaining.”

“True.” Mary frowned. “Then there are days when she seems way too cynical for a girl her age. That poor baby has been through so much.” She pursed her lips. “She’s working on moving past it, but it’ll always be a part of her. And I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to accept that it’s her past.”

 

David nodded and once again, there was silence. This time it wasn’t as comfortable, both were feeling the same thing. David felt it was his responsibility to break it again, he had brought up the whole age thing.

 

“Hypothetically if she was driving,” he said. “I’d be able to give her a speeding ticket, yes. And then lecture her ‘til kingdom come.”

“The only way she’s ever getting one is if she agrees to all our rules.”

“Our rules, huh?”

“I may be okay with her getting one, but there are so many things she must abide by first. I have pamphlets.”

David chuckled. “Of course you do, baby.”

 

The next two and half hours went by slowly. The two went on and off with chatting. They took turns making coffee runs and going through their own bag that Mary had brought filled with stuff for them to do. Though, Mary couldn’t seem to focus on her novel and David’s paperwork had less appeal than usual.

 

Finally, Whale emerged from the back. Mary and David almost ended up requiring surgery for themselves as they fumbled to reach him.

 

“Emma came through the surgery just fine, there were no complications.” He smiled as they let out simultaneous breaths of relief.

“And the anesthesia?” David asked.

“She’s waking up right now. And she asked for her mommy and daddy, so you two are free to go see her. Just keep in mind, she’s sort of out of it and may need to go back to sleep.”

 

Mary clutched her husband’s hand as the doctor lead them down the hall and into their daughter’s room. Emma laid in the bed, her leg propped up with the proper cast around the ankle. Her eyes were half-open and she didn’t even notice her parents had walked in. They moved to either side of her bed.

 

“Mommy,” Emma muttered, seeing her first. Mary smiled and pushed some of her hair out of her face.

“Mommy’s right here, baby. Daddy, too.”

David kissed her forehead. “You’re all good, Princess. You were so brave.”

“Mmm…feels weird.”

“You’re still on pain meds,” Mary explained.

“Hungry.”

 

Mary and David couldn’t help but laugh. Only Emma would be thinking about food right after surgery.

 

“I’ll go to Granny’s and get you your promised meal,” David told her.

“No.” Emma took hold of his hand, suddenly frantic. “Daddy, don’t go.”

“Shhh, it’s alright.” He kissed the top of her head. “I won’t be gone long.”

“No.”

“Can I go?” Mary asked. Emma shook her head.

“Mommy and Daddy stay.”

Mary partially smiled, she sounded so little. “Okay, we’ll stay. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“Just gonna leave.”

“No sweets, we won’t. Mommy and Daddy will stay right here, we’ll be here when we wake up.”

Her husband nodded. “I promise I’ll stay right here, Princess.”

Emma’s eyes began closing again. “Daddy doesn’t go back on promises.”

David grinned. “That’s right, get some more sleep, Angel.”

 

Pretty soon, she was back asleep. David and Mary stayed on opposite sides, staying true to their word, marveling at how adorable she just was. Mary pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Ruby. She agreed to make up all their favorites and have one of the older waiters give her a ride in a little bit, so the parents could stay true to their words.

 

When Emma came to again about a few hours later, she felt someone running their fingers through her hair. She blinked a few times and saw it was her mother.

 

“Mmm…Mama?”

“Hey baby girl.” She kissed the top of her head.

“Did the surgery go okay?”

“It went fine.” She saw her daughter trying to sit up, but stopped her. Instead, she used the remote Whale had showed her to adjust the bed. “There we go. You need to be careful, your ankle is still sensitive.”

Emma nodded, still a bit too tired to roll her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Close to 5.”

“But my surgery was at 11.”

“You got done around 2, but when you woke up you were a little out of it.”

David piped up. “You were quite adorable.”

Emma groaned. “What did I say?”

“First just that you were hungry, which was hilarious because only you would think of food right after surgery,” he teased.

The blonde poked out her tongue. “Well, I haven’t eaten since last night.”

Her father held up the Granny’s bag. “Ruby dropped this off a little while ago.”

“She’s the best.”

“One of us was going to go, but then you insisted that your mommy and daddy stayed with you,” he continued.

Emma turned red. “Great, so I was acting like a 5-year-old.”

“Don’t be embarrassed, Em,” Mary told her, rubbing her arm. “You were still out of it and it’s okay to need us, you just had surgery.”

“If either of you ever repeat what I said to anyone, I’m getting emancipated.”

David rolled his eyes and took out the food. “Grilled cheese and onion rings for you, dramatic teenager.”

“And water,” Mary added, setting it down. She wasn’t fazed by the face that Emma made, she knew her daughter wasn’t a big water fan outside exercising. “Whale said it’s best for you to drink fluids, so it’s juice or water for now.”

“I’m not even out of the hospital and you’re already being an annoying nurse,” Emma said as she started to eat, though she couldn’t help but notice the vegetables on her plate.

“Whale said the only way you could eat that was to get some veggies in you too,” Mary explained. “To get better faster, you need to eat healthier.”

She made a face but ate most of her dinner, leaving the vegetables. “Done.”

“Eat them, Emma,” her mother told her.

Emma rolled her eyes. “But they don’t sound good.”

“You need to eat them.”

“Yeah, or else you’re going to be short forever,” David teased. Mary shot him a look, reminding him silently that she didn’t need two children.

“I am not short,” Emma protested.

“Little bit.”

“Eat them, Emma,” Mary cut in before they could banter, therefor prolonging them. “And don’t even think about giving your father those eyes and making him putty in your hands.”

Emma pouted. “Do you really think I’d do that, Mama?”

“Yes, just like you are right now,” she responded, rolling her eyes. “Except they don’t work on me.” Emma turned to her father, not changing her face.

“Daddy…”

“David.”

David chuckled, kissing the top of Emma’s head. “Your mother is right, Em. You need to eat them. If you do, we can put it in one of the movies your mother brought, we have your laptop so we can easily stick it in.”

 

Emma sighed and dramatically at the vegetables. A nurse came by to check her vitals, all continued to look well. David located the laptop and put in the latest Star Wars movie. The couple hoped that would be enough to put their daughter to sleep again, but of course it wasn’t. By the end, Mary pulled out the baby blanket, draping it over the top of Emma’s covers.

 

“I’m not tired,” the teenager told her. “It’s not even that late.”

“No, but you had a big day and you need your rest.”

“I don’t like hospitals,” Emma mumbled. “I hate sleeping in them.”

Mary stroked her hand. “I know, baby. But it’s just for one night and we’re going to be with you the entire time.”

“What if you leave?”

“We won’t, we’re going to be right here. It’s not like last time.”

Emma played with a loose thread on her blanket. “Promise?”

“We promise,” David told her, kissing the top of her head. “Why don’t we tell you a story?” There was silence for a moment.

“What kind of story?”

“I could tell you about the time your mother sent me to the hospital because she shot an arrow at me.”

“It was an accident!” Mary protested.

“Even so, I have the scar to prove it.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “I’m helping you tell it, because you make it sound worse than it is.”

 

Before they could even get to David actually being hit by said arrow (because the couple kept interrupting each other), Emma was out. Mary couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“I think we just bored her to sleep, we didn’t even get to the good part.”

David smiled. “Why do you think I chose that story? Any other one would’ve had her engaged the entire time.”

* * *

Emma didn’t wake up again until the next morning. Both of her parents were up and repacking.

 

“Morning sleepy head,” Mary told her.

“Morning. When can I go?”

“Whale just wants to check you over one last time and then he’ll discharge you. Come on, I can help you get changed in the meantime.”

“I can get changed by myself.”

“Emma,” Mary said, sternly. “You’re not going to be able to stand properly for quite some time. You need my help.”

 

David walked over, lifting her up before she could protest and Mary followed him into the bathroom. He left to give the girls privacy while Mary assisted in holding her up right and helping her change. She had chosen a sundress for her daughter. She knew it wasn’t Emma’s cup of tea, but it’d be easier than trying to maneuver pants over the ankle.

 

Whale came in and gave Emma one final check. She was doing well enough to go home. Of course, she was reminded that she would be on strict bedrest, the only exception being physical therapy which would start in a few weeks. Even then, the teen had a feeling David would be carrying her whenever possible. She hated being so dependent on her parents, she felt they helped her with enough. But it wasn’t as if she had much ch”oice.

 

They picked up takeout from Granny’s on the way home and once there, David took her up to her room, laying her back on the bed. He propped her ankle up and kissed her forehead.

  
“There we go, all set.”

“For 6 weeks of house arrest,” Emma mumbled.

“It’ll go by quickly,” he promised her.

“Holding you to it. Don’t you have work?”

“Yes, I just wanted to get you settled.” He handed over her baby blanket. “I’ll be back around 5 and we can watch a movie.”

Emma partially smiled. “Okay.”

“Be good for your mother, please.” He noticed her green eyes rolling. “I’m serious, Em. I know this whole thing sucks but this is what you have to do and rebelling is just going to make it harder.”

Emma sighed. “Alright, alright. I’ll try.”

“That’s my girl.” David gave her forehead one last kiss. “I love you, Princess.”

“Love you too, Daddy.”

 

Mary came back up not much later holding some pills and water.

 

“Whale says this will help with the pain.” She was surprised at how fast Emma took them, but then remembered David had something about having a little chat with her about not making things worse for herself. She knew it wasn’t going to last, but hey, she appreciated it.

 

It only took about 3 days for things to already start to go crazy. Emma was getting restless. She had to have help getting to the bathroom and since she couldn’t stand, she had to take baths. Mary tried to give her as much space as possible, but the girl needed more help than she wanted to admit. It was resulting to them both being a little crabby.

 

Things came to a head around lunch. Emma was refusing to eat, because she could only take her pill with food. She hated taking the pills because they made her feel weird. Mary was starting to get to the end of her rope.

 

“Emma, just eat something,” she begged, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.

“No.”

“Emma, come on! This is just ridiculous. It’s not like you have anything to do anyway,” Mary told her. “What does it matter if you fall asleep?”

“It just does!”

 

What the teen didn’t add was that when she took a nap, it threw off her sleep at night and it was just an endless cycle. A rational Emma who had gotten more sleep and hadn’t been cooped up in her room would’ve explained that. But she wasn’t that Emma at the moment.

 

“Do I have to feed you myself?”

Emma looked mortified at the thought. “Mom!”

“I don’t know what else to do. You’re being so stubborn right now.”

“Just leave me alone!”

 

Mary let out a frustrated sigh and moved the tray to the nightstand. This wasn’t working, she needed a break, they needed a break. She loved her daughter so much but this wasn’t healthy for either of them.

 

“I’m going to go do some laundry.” She thrust Emma’s phone into her hand. “When you decide to eat, text me.” With that, she was gone.

 

Emma laid there stubbornly, for a while. She expected her mother to come back after a little bit to lecture her. But thirty minutes went by and no Mary. Then an hour. After two, Emma was starting to get worried. She knew she had been a pain in the ass, but she didn’t think it would get to her mom that much. She didn’t want to push her away, not again. She ate most of her food and sent the text. But after 45 minutes with no response, she felt worse.

 

_Now you’ve done it._

Emma bit down on her lip, she needed to see her mom and apologize.

 

What she couldn’t know, was that Mary had fallen asleep on the couch. She hadn’t meant to and was originally going to go back in Emma’s room after 45 minutes. They just needed time to calm down. She was woken up out of her sleep, by a thud followed by screams of pain.

 

“Emma,” Mary shot up, still half asleep. Her eyes moved to her phone, realizing the time. “Shit!” She raced up the stairs and found Emma on the floor by her bed, clutching her ankle. Mary quickly rushed to her side. “What happened?”

“I dropped my phone, I went to get it,” Emma muttered, tears spilling down her face.

“Oh Emma,” she gently helped her back into bed, tucking her in tightly.

“You should go back to whatever you were doing.”

Mary wanted to kick herself. “Baby, I’m sorry. I feel asleep. I planned on coming up here sooner, I don’t know what happened.”

Emma bit her lip. “I thought you got sick of me and gave up.”

“Oh sweets,” Mary stroked her hair. “I wasn’t sick of you.”

“You seemed it before.”

“I was just frustrated, I just want you to get better.”

“I know,” Emma studied the sheets. “It’s not entirely your fault, I was being stubborn on purpose. I just…every time I take a nap, then I can’t fall asleep at night. Then I just get cranky all over again. That’s why I didn’t take the pills.”

Mary slowly nodded. “And you didn’t tell me this why?”

The teen shrugged. “Guess I was just too tired to explain.”

Her mother gave her a small smile. “How about this? You take your pills and I won’t let you nap for a long period of time, an hour most. That way, your sleep cycle won’t be affected by it.”

“Sounds good.”

“Good. And I’m sorry I got so short with you. It’s just…we’re only on Day 3. We have 39 more to go and it’s going to go by so slow if we spend it at each other’s throats. I can’t imagine having to be laid up for 6 weeks and needing so much help. I’m sure it’s so frustrating,” she rubbed Emma’s arm. “And I’ll do what I can to make it easier, but you have to actually talk to me.”

Emma nodded, tears prickling her eyes. “I’m sorry you’re stuck taking care of me.”

“Oh baby,” Mary sat next to her, pulling her in her arms. “You’re my daughter, I want to take care of you. You couldn’t pay me to be anywhere else right now.”

The blonde cuddled against her side. “I’ll try to be a better patient.”

Mary knew that they’d probably have to have the conversation again, but for now, she accepted it. “Thank you, baby.” She kissed the top of her head.

 

The next 6 weeks weren’t going to be easy, but they would manage to live through them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! As always, keep telling me what you’d like to see happen. Hopefully I’ll have the final one up for this installment soon and then we start part 2.


	34. A Family, One Year Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! This is the last chapter for this installment of the series and the sequel will hopefully be up very soon. I am going to open up the “outtakes” one shot part of this series hopefully soon, starting off with Father’s Day (and not just because people have been complaining, had this planned out all along), so keep your eyes out for both of those. I want to thank everyone for following along and to all of those who gave shout outs on their own accounts, to the advice I received and to whoever included this story in a community. It really means a lot. This has ended up being my longest story yet and I still have lots of plans for it so let’s get ready for the final chapter (of the first part, anyway)!

Those 6 weeks didn’t fly by as fast as any of them wanted and there were for sure more arguments. But there always would be. Families aren’t perfect. Life isn’t an episode of Leave It to Beaver. The parents aren’t perfect, the father isn’t a bumbling idiot and the kids make mistakes that can’t be resolved in a 30-minute time period. And that’s okay. It’s the way things were supposed to be.

 

Emma started physical therapy half-way through her time on bedrest. It proved to be difficult but she was willing to put up the fight she needed to get where she wanted to be. Mary and David were very proud of her. It wasn’t easy for them to see her in pain, but they knew it was needed so she could be 100% again. The weeks following the bedrest were filled with their own challenges. While Emma’s ankle was clear for walking, she still had P.T and had to take it easy. The teenager pretended to be annoyed when her parents fussed over her, but at the end of the day, it was still nice to have people who cared enough. It didn’t matter how many times she acted like a terrible patient, they never gave up on her.

 

And then, things began to come full circle.

 

David had always pictured what his child's first day of school would be like. They would have a princess or Mickey Mouse backpack (depending on the gender), wear a cute outfit that Mary would obsess over and they'd come bounding down the stairs, so excited to start kindergarten. They'd have a huge breakfast and then head off to school. The kid would cling to his leg, not wanting to go, but would then make so many friends.

 

But his kid wasn't going into kindergarten. And it wasn’t her first day of school with them, just her first day of high school.

 

It would also be Mary’s first day of vice principal. Well, to be fair she had been having meetings for the past two weeks but this was her first day with students. Big moments for both of the girls in David’s life.

 

Mary was first down the stairs, kissing him. “Good morning.”

“Morning Mrs. Vice Principal,” he told her.

She laughed. “How much longer are you going to call me that?”

“Until you retire. That a problem?”

“Nah.” She kissed him again, only to hear gagging.

“Both of you are way too sweet for this hour.”

 

There was Emma. Their high school student. David couldn’t believe that it had almost been a year since she entered their lives, almost a year since he received that file with her information. How could so much have occurred in such little time?

 

“One day Emma, you are going to meet a boy and none of this is going to be disgusting,” Mary told her.

David made a face. “No, it won’t.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Even if I’ve been married for 50 years, you guys kissing will be gross.” She spotted a plate of pancakes and quickly grinned. “Chocolate chip?”

“Only the best for my princess,” her father replied, kissing the side of her head.

 

The family sat down to eat, talking aimlessly for a little bit.

 

“Do you, Ruby and Lily have a lot of classes together?” David asked.

“Just a couple, but it won’t be so bad,” Emma replied.

“How long do you give it before Mama embarrasses you?”

“Five minutes.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “I promised you I wasn’t going to. I didn’t at the other school.”

“You weren’t my teacher back then,” her daughter pointed out with a cheeky grin.

“You’re hilarious.”

“You know I love you, Mama.” Emma hugged her arm quickly before going back to eating. Sometimes hearing those words still made Mary’s heart skip a beat. She had a beautiful daughter, a daughter who called her “Mama”. What more could she possibly want out of life?

 

Once they were finished up, they loaded up the dishes and Mary gave her husband one last kiss while Emma grabbed her stuff.

 

“Look after our girl,” he whispered.

“Always do.” Mary gave him a small smile. “She’s going to be fine.”

“How’d you know I was nervous?”

“I know you more than you realize.”

 

Emma walked back over and kissed her father’s cheek.

 

“Bye Daddy, I love you.”

“Love you too Princess, have a good day.”

 

He watched his girls walk out the door, a smile on his face. It was a big day for both of them and as much as he wished he could be there, he knew this was the way it was supposed to be.

 

Once they arrived at the school, Emma and Mary just stood there for a moment. It reminded Emma of her first day at the junior high. It seemed like a whole other lifetime ago.

 

“You’re going to have fun,” Mary told her, breaking the silence. “You’re going to make so many new friends.”

Emma cracked a smile. “I already have friends.”

“You’ll make new ones. And if you need me, you know where my office is.”

“Yes, I know.” Another beat of silence. “Thank you, Mama.”

Mary looked at her, confused. “For what?”

“Just…everything.”

Tears prickled Mary’s eyes as she reached over to give her a hug. Emma hugged her back for a moment. “Why are you making us cry on our first day?”

Emma laughed, wiping her tears and pulling off. “I don’t know, I guess I’m a sadist.”

Mary shook her head, chuckling as she kissed her cheek. “I better head in. You coming?”

“I’m waiting on Ruby and Lily, they should be here in a second.”

“Alright baby, have a good first day.”

“You too Mama, kick butt.”

 

Mary chuckled and headed into the building. Not long after, Ruby and Lily arrived, having being driven by Mal. Bae wasn’t far behind, Emma could see Belle driving off, blowing him a kiss. She couldn’t help but smile. While she had found her family, he had found his mother.

 

“Are you girls ready for your first day of high school?” He asked.

“As we’ll ever be,” Ruby replied, linking her arm with Emma’s. Emma did the same with Lily.

“Let’s go in, then,” the blonde said.

* * *

Emma was pleasantly surprised by how her mom handled her role as both vice principal and mom. It had only been 2 weeks, but she had yet to embarrass her. They of course would see each other in the halls and at assemblies, but her mother kept her professionalism. Was it hard for Mary to not slip into Mom mode sometimes? Definitely, but she did her best. She figured she could use it to her advantage at some point and finally the perfect occasion arose.

 

David was feeding Oliver when he heard his two girls come through the house, arguing.

 

“I’m not going!” Emma exclaimed.

“Oh come on, Emma. I know it’s not your cup of tea, but I’m the vice principal. My daughter should go to these things.”

“I’m not just the vice principal’s daughter!”

“I know, but it’ll be fun. Lily and Ruby are going, right? You’ve been to dances before.”

“Not ones like this.”

 

David walked into the foyer, studying the two of them.

 

“What’s going on?” He asked, wondering if he wanted to go.

“Mom is trying to force me into going to homecoming,” Emma replied.

“I just think it’ll be fun for her. It’s something high schoolers do.”

David sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Why don’t you want to go, Em?”

“I just don’t want to.”

“Please, sweetheart, I know you hate dressing up, but you could wear whatever dress you want,” Mary tried to bargain.

“It’s not the dress.”

“Then what? Is it all the people?”

“No, I don’t care about that.”

“Is it about a boy?” David shuddered as his wife said that.

“No! I just…I don’t want to go.” And with that, she headed up the stairs. Before Mary could go, David stopped her.

“I’ll talk to her.”

“I wouldn’t be pushing this if I didn’t think she really wanted to go,” she told him, quietly. “There’s just something about it bothering her.”

“I’ll get to the bottom of it. Can you finish feeding the cat?”

 

David headed upstairs and lightly knocked on his daughter’s door.

 

“Princess?”

“What do you want?” She called back.

“Can I come in, please?” He took the silence as a yes and entered. Emma was sitting on her bed, texting. He took the seat next to her.

“I’m not going to that stupid dance,” the teen mumbled.

“That’s fine. You don’t have to.” Emma gave him a curious look. “You know your mom would never make you do something that made you feel uncomfortable.”

Emma sighed, putting her phone down. “It’s not that I’d feel uncomfortable.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s stupid.”

“I guarantee you that it’s not.”

Emma played with the fringe of her baby blanket. “I promised Bae that I’d dance one dance with him.”

“Okay and you don’t want to? Is he pressuring you?” David was doing his best not to slip into protective father mode.

“No, I agreed without thinking about it. It’s just a friend thing but…it’s going to be a slow dance…”

 

The pieces connected for David and he nodded, rubbing her back.

 

“You don’t know how to dance like that, do you?” She shook her head and he started laughing. She shot him a Look.

“Oh yeah, this is so hilarious. Make fun of me.” Emma threw herself back on the bed, covering her face with her hands.

David regained composure. “Honey, I’m not making fun of you,” he moved her hands out of her face. “I just had a similar conversation with your mother.”

“What?”

“Before our wedding. She suddenly announced that she didn’t want to have any dancing, period. At first I thought it was because her father was refusing to come so there’d be no father daughter dance. Then I found it was because she couldn’t dance.”

Emma’s frown softened. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“But I’ve seen pictures from your wedding. You two did dance.”

David smiled. “You’re right, we did. I taught her how to before our wedding. Now, you don’t have to go to this dance if you don’t want to. And if you never wanted to slow dance with a boy, hell I’d be okay with that too…” He laughed as Emma rolled her eyes. “But if you want, I could teach you, like I taught your mother.”

A small smile spread across her face. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I would’ve taught you sooner if I had known that you didn’t know how.”

Emma thought about it for a minute. “Okay. If you don’t make fun of me.”

“Never would,” he promised her. “You should’ve just explained it to your mother.”

“It’s embarrassing. Or it was, before I knew what you told me about her.”

“You know you can tell us anything, Em. You’re our daughter.” He kissed her forehead.

 

All of that lead to the next day, with Emma wearing one of her sundresses (since Mary said one had to learn to move in a dress) and David having pushed back the furniture in the living room. Mary docked her iPod and put on some music. David held out his hand and Emma accepted it, allowing him to wrap her other arm around the center of her back.

 

“Just follow my lead,” he told her. They began to move, but after five seconds, Emma was already stepping on his feet.

“Okay, this is just a lost cause,” she mumbled, trying to pull away, but David wouldn’t let her.

“It’s alright, you’re learning. Come on, I’ll help you.” Slowly, he moved with her. She stepped on his feet twice more, but he simply redirected her. He couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked, so nervous. He wished he could have taught this all to her when she was younger, back when she probably would’ve stood on his feet. But, she did seem to pick up on it rather quickly, her confidence slowly building. “There we go.” He beamed at her. “You’re doing it, baby girl.”

Emma blushed, though she silently loved the praise. “Well, I do have a pretty good teacher.”

He chuckled and pulled her up onto his feet. She raised an eyebrow. “Just go with it.” She giggled and rest her head on his shoulder. David kissed the top of her head. Getting to dance with his little princess was the best feeling ever. “Just remember,” he patted his hand in the spot where it was on her back. “This is where the hand stays. If it drops any lower, tell me. I’ll break it.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Yes, Daddy.” She was enjoying it probably as much as he was. Growing up, her schools had father-daughter dances. She never got to go to them, it wasn’t as if her foster fathers were exactly the type to want to bring her. Still, when she dreamed up her perfect father, it included being able to dance with him, at least just once.

 

The song unfortunately came to an end, probably sooner than either of them would have liked. But, two things had been accomplished. For one, Emma was definitely going to be able to dance with Bae as promised. For another, she had gotten to dance with her father and her dad, had gotten a chance to teach his little princess how to dance.

 

Mary and Mal tagged along with the girls while they selected their dresses that weekend. Emma hated it, but was overpowered by the rest of the girls there and in the end, at least had some fun by making fun of the silly dresses Lily picked out just to make her laugh.

 

Before they knew it, it was the night of the dance. Emma didn’t have a date, Mary was going to bring her. She had to be there as the vice principal, plus it was her daughter’s first formal dance. She wouldn’t have missed it for the world. The two of them sat up in her and David’s bedroom, Emma sitting at Mary’s vanity. Emma had already put on her dress, it was a red one with long sleeves, with a skirt that fell at her knees. There was subtle beading on it. It wasn’t overly girly, but not completely plain either. Mary, herself, was wearing a black dress, her makeup already complete.

 

After doing her daughter’s makeup, Mary got to work on the hair. Without thinking, she began smiling like crazy as she brushed it out.

 

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“I’m just thinking,” Mary said, absentmindedly.

“About?”

“When I was a little older than you, I went to prom for the first time. I didn’t dance, my date was a bit of a dud, but I didn’t know it at the time. Anyway, I was busy getting ready. My step-mother, who as you know wasn’t exactly the warmest person, came in and offered to do my hair.” She began to braid a small portion of Emma’s hair into a fishtail braid. They had agreed to do just do one, with the rest of her curls going down. “She said that every girl should have someone to do their hair. It wasn’t the same as having my mother there, as nice as it was. But, I couldn’t help but think how much I wanted a daughter so I could do her hair before her first dance.”

Emma smiled. “When I was little, these other girls would come to school with what seemed like complicated braids and hairdos. I would ask how they did it and they just shrugged and said their moms did it…like it was no big deal. Same when they all started getting into makeup and stuff. I’m just…I know I can be a pain in the butt sometimes but I really am grateful I have you now.”

Tears fell out of Mary’s green eyes as she bent down, kissing her daughter’s cheek. “I’m so grateful that I have you too sweets.” She squeezed her shoulders and the two stayed like that for a minute, enjoying the moment. A mother, who could give her daughter what she didn’t have, while a daughter finally had gotten all she ever wanted. “Alright,” Mary said, finally after a bit. “Enough sappy stuff, let’s finish getting you ready!”

 

David wasn’t sure what to expect when Emma came down the stairs, but he was anything but disappointed. She looked so beautiful, like a real princess. His mouth dropped open before he could help it. Emma saw his staring and mistook it for something else.

 

“I knew I looked ridiculous, I’m just not going to go,” she mumbled. David gently grabbed hold of her arm.

“Don’t, Princess. You look beautiful.”

She smiled. “Really?”

“Cinderella would have some steep competition.”

Emma giggled. “Well for starters, I’m not wearing heels, so I doubt I’ll lose my shoes.”

David laughed, kissing her forehead. “You’re going to be the prettiest girl there.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“It’s true.”

“You have to say that, you’re my dad.”

“Also true, but I don’t say what I don’t mean.”

“Here, let me get a picture of you two together,” Mary said, fumbling for her camera in her small clutch. Emma rolled her eyes.

“Mama.”

“It’s your first formal dance, allow me to play paparazzi for a moment.” She pulled it out and David wrapped his arm around Emma’s waist. The two smiled as the flash went out. “David, one of me and Emma?”  


Her husband nodded, kissing her.

 

“You look beautiful, too, you know?” He murmured into her ear.

She smiled. “Thank you.”

 

After David took the picture of them, Mary insisted on taking a ton of Emma in various locations. The girl had never rolled her eyes so many times, but she allowed it. She was used to her mother’s obsession with picture taking by that point. Finally, they had to go or they’d be late. Emma kissed David’s cheek.

 

“I love you, Daddy. See you later.”

“I love you too, baby. Have fun.”

 

He watched her leave, wondering how she grew up so fast in just the short year that he had known her. At the same time, that was still his little girl. Tonight, she’d haver dance with Baelfire. But at the end of the day, he was still the number one guy in her life and he wouldn’t trade that for the world.

 

The dance was everything Emma had dreamed of and more. Her, Lily and Ruby danced to almost all the upbeat songs. Bae was hanging out with some of his other friends for most of it. But when the last slow song came on, he walked over to Emma and the two of them danced. She managed to only step on his feet twice. He just chuckled.

 

“It’s alright, I stepped on Belle’s feet like a million times while practicing.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You practiced with Belle?”

Blush tinted his cheeks, wanting to smack himself for bringing it up. “Yeah.”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. I practiced with my dad.”

“Aww, how cute,” he teased.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Mama’s Boy.”

“What’d you just call me, Daddy’s Girl?”

“You heard me…Mama’s Boy,” she smirked.

He started laughing. “Do you realize when we met a year ago, we couldn’t have called each other these things?”

Emma’s smirk turned into a smile. “It is pretty amazing what a year could do. It’s like we each found the missing pieces to us. You got a mom, I got two parents.”

“What else could we wish for?”

 

They were teenagers, there would be far more for them to wish for in the future. Maybe a part of them knew that, but at the moment, they were just two friends, enjoying a dance after all they had been through.

 

The song ended and there was one more fast one, but then, it was over. Emma said goodbye to her friends, sliding down into a chair. She was pretty exhausted. Mary was busy giving some last minute instructions to those in charge of pickup and then she noticed Emma, slumped over at one of the tables. She was one of the last kids still there. She lightly smiled and turned to one of the teachers.

 

“Can you take over? I should take my daughter home.”

 

She headed over and gently tapped Emma on the shoulder. “Sweets?”

“Yeah?” Emma asked, half-awake.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“You have to help…I can too…”

“There are plenty of people to take over, let’s go.” Mary extended a hand and Emma accepted it, getting up and following her mom out. “Did you have fun tonight?”

“Uh huh.” Emma yawned. “Thank you for talking me into coming.”

“You’re welcome, baby.”

 

By the time they got home, Emma had fallen asleep in her seat. Mary chuckled and headed inside. David looked up from the movie he was watching, Oliver curled up in his chest.

 

“Hey,” he got up, walking over and giving her a quick kiss. “How was it?”

“It was great, the kids behaved, no issues.”

“And our little girl?”

“I sold her,” she teased.

David laughed, rubbing noses with her. “I hope you got a good deal.”

“Oh, totally.” She smiled. “She’s in the car. It seems that our princess is more Sleeping Beauty than Cinderella. Figured I’d let you do the honors, Daddy.”

 

David beamed and went out to the car. He carefully removed Emma’s seatbelt and slid his arms under her legs to lift her up, cradling her back with his other hand. In her sleep, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He beamed brighter and carried her inside, following his wife up the stairs and into the bedroom. He stepped out to allow Mary to change her quickly and when he stepped back in, he was surprised to find Emma still asleep. He lifted her up once more and laid her in the bed, tucking her in, kissing her forehead. He pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face, taking in how angelic she looked in her sleep.

 

“Night Princess, I love you.”

Mary kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Love you baby, sweet dreams.”

 

The two didn’t leave right away. David pulled his wife into his arms, the tw of them watching her sleep.

 

“She’s ours,” he whispered into her ear.

“I know. It still seems so surreal at times. Like how did we live our lives before her?”

“I don’t know. But we never have to know that feeling again and neither does she. What’d you say that one time? We’re the glue, we’re her family.”

“Family,” Mary sighed contently. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me too.” David kissed her temple.

“David?”

“Yes?”

“I’m ready to talk about it.”

He cocked an eyebrow as she turned her head so she could look at him. He had a feeling what she was talking about, but wasn’t sure. “Talk about what?”

“Making Emma a big sister.”

He smiled. “Are you sure?”

“I’m not saying we’d apply again right away, but maybe by the end of the school year. We need to talk to Emma about it too, but I think it’s time. What do you think?”

David smiled, cupping her face. “I think that you are an amazing mom and I would love to adopt another child.”

Mary smiled in return, kissing him. “I sort of love you, you know that?”

“I love you too. Now come on, let’s let our baby girl get some sleep.”

 

They each gave Emma one last kiss goodnight before heading out of the room. The discussion about more kids could wait until morning, for now, they were just going to marvel over the perfect child they already had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty people, there we go! I hope you all enjoyed! The sequel, “I Won’t Let Go” will hopefully be out very soon. If you follow me, you should get an e-mail when it is. If not, I will be putting in the description of this story as soon as it’s up. I want to thank you all again for taking the time to read and review. It really does mean a lot and this story wouldn’t be continuing if it weren’t for the overwhelming amount of support it got, so just know how awesome you all are.


	35. Outtake #1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the first outtake from The Lost Get Found. These probably won’t be too long, but if there is anything you guys wanted to see more of in this story, then just let me know. I love filling prompts, haha.
> 
> This one takes place a week before Emma’s ankle surgery, David’s first Father’s Day.

Emma nervously shuffled through the kitchen as she added in what she thought was the right amount of nutmeg. Her father had confided in her with his secret ingredient a little back and she wanted to get it right. It was her first Father’s Day with a man who actually deserved the title.

 

“Baby, what are you doing?” She turned around to see Mary standing there, tying the robe tighter around herself.

“Sorry, was I too loud?”

“No, I was up anyway. Are you making pancakes?”

“Yeah, for Dad. It’s Father’s Day.”

 

Mary smiled. As much as David adored Emma, she seemed to adore him right back. She had been so excited for Father’s Day along with nervous. She wanted it to be absolutely perfect.

 

“They smell good.”

“I hope. It has to be perfect.”

“Sweets, you know your dad will love whatever you do.”

“Still, he deserves the best.”

 

Mary rubbed her back, knowing that it was probably just best to let her daughter do what she wanted. She had seemed really apprehensive about the whole thing, more than she had seemed around Mother’s Day. While it was the first for Mary and David, it was the first for Emma to be celebrating it with parents. She had told them that Ed and Helga never asked her to do anything (which made her parents relieved because they deserved nothing except several shots of an arrow) and in the foster system, she just never felt that connection to a foster parent. In fact, Emma had seemed to be on her best behavior around David a lot, lately. Not that it was cause for complaint, it just didn’t seem “Emma”.

 

Before they could bring the food up, David came down the stairs. Emma rolled her eyes.

 

“Only you would ruin breakfast in bed.”

He beamed. “My girls made me breakfast?”

“It was mostly Emma,” Mary told him.

“Aw, thanks Princess.” David kissed the top of her head. “Sorry for ruining your surprise.”

“It’s alright, I guess,” Emma replied, dramatically.

 

David laughed and sat down with his girls to eat. The pancakes weren’t perfect, slightly burnt and a little too much nutmeg, but he still loved them. He went to do the dishes when they were done, but Mary wouldn’t let him.

 

“It’s your day,” she informed him, gathering them up and heading to the sink.

“Man, I could get used to this,” he joked, leaning back in his chair and smirking.

Emma giggled. “So, Mom and I arranged for one more surprise. A gift, from both of us.”

“But it’s for you two to do together,” Mary added. “To get you out of my hair.”

“Oh please, you love us,” David stated.

“Yes, I do. But you drive me insane,” she teased. “I’m just kidding, it’s Father’s Day, it’s for the father and their children to spend with them.” Mary originally had planned for them to all do something together, but after Emma spent just Mother’s Day with her, she figured she’d return the favor. Plus, David’s real present from her couldn’t be “opened” until after Emma went to bed anyway.

 

Emma handed him an envelope and he opened it, grinning at the contents: two passes for paint ball at the local rec center.

 

“Paint ball?” He looked over at Mary. “Have you had an aneurism? You’re going to let me take Emma, paint balling?”

“She convinced me that it’s safe. But I will say this, I don’t care what day it is,” she walked over to him and tipped his chin up to look at her. “My baby comes back in the same condition as I give her to you in or I shoot you with my bow and arrow.”

David cocked an eyebrow. “Yes, dear.”

“Good.” She smiled. “Happy Father’s Day.”

David laughed. “Princess, go get ready and I will too. Before Mama changes her mind.”

“Yeah, I was surprised when she agreed to this too.”

 

The two went upstairs to change, David surprisingly taking longer than Emma. When he finally got down there, Mary was taking a picture of their daughter.

 

“Mary, seriously?”

“Recording her exact condition.”

“You know I would never let anything bad happen to our baby girl,” he told her.

“I know, I know, I’m just being silly.” She gave him a kiss. “Have fun.”

“We will. Ready to go, Princess?”

“Yup.” Emma grabbed her bag and followed him out to the car.

 

There weren’t that many people at the rec center, considering most people were out at brunch or BBQs, maybe even fishing. They had a friendly battle once they were all geared up. Hearing Emma laugh was the best present he could ever ask for, it had been so rare lately. At one point, they were both hiding behind their respective plastic shrubs.

 

“I call a truce,” David called out.

“Lies!” Emma shouted back.

“I promise. I surrender.” He picked up a little white flag that they kept around (though it was now covered with paint) and waved it from behind his hiding spot.

 

Emma raised her eyebrow and slowly walked out, holding her gun close. David walked out as well, his hands in the air. Emma couldn’t resist and fired one last shot, hitting his protected leg.

 

“HA!”

“Hey, I just surrendered!” David protested.

“I didn’t though,” she smirked.

“You know little about war works, clearly. That doesn’t mean you win.”

“Never claimed to know anything. As you like to say, I’m just a little girl.” Emma gave her best puppy dog face. “I think I should still win.”

David narrowed his eyes, she was adorable and she knew it. “Alright you little warrior, let’s get changed and get some ice cream.”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

 

After quickly putting on their street clothes, they headed to the ice cream parlor where David insisted on paying.

 

“It’s Father’s Day,” Emma complained as they took seats at one of the tables outside.

“Yes, which means I get to do whatever I want. Including treating my baby girl to ice cream.”

“But you shouldn’t pay for anything.”

“I just like that I get to have a daughter to spend this day with.” Emma sighed and picked at her cup. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Emma.” He gave her a knowing look. “Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours. Do I have to pull the Father’s Day card?”

She let out another sigh. “I just wanted today to be perfect. I know being my dad isn’t easy…”

“Whoa wait, what are you getting at?”

“Well, I have a lot of issues and it wasn’t long ago that I was being so terrible to you when you didn’t deserve it. I freaked out on you and I even stopped calling you Dad. I guess sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you as a dad…”

“Emma.” David touched her cheek so she’d look up at him, “You have been through a lot, everything makes sense. You know I was never angry with you about that.”

“Well you should’ve been.”

“You’re my baby girl. It is impossible to get mad at you. Disappointed, yes, but I moved past it.” He stroked her cheek. “Being your dad is the greatest gift I have ever gotten.”

“You have to say that.”

“I don’t say what I don’t mean, you should know that by now. I love you so much, more than life itself. And while yes, there have been times when it’s not easy, life isn’t either. I wouldn’t trade being your dad for the world. Never feel like you don’t deserve me.” David kissed her forehead.

“You really are the greatest dad, you know,” she told him. “No matter what I may say.”

“Can I get that in writing the next time you tell me I’m the worst dad ever because I won’t let you stay out late with friends?” He teased, lightening the mood.

Emma rolled her eyes and flicked a sprinkle at him. “So, good first Father’s Day?”

“It’ll be hard to top.”

“I will take that as a challenge,” she told him, stubbornly.

 

David laughed. Of course she would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this makes up for not including this in the original story, haha.


	36. Outtake#2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a little idea that came to me. I want to have Emma and David more into (American) football in I Won’t Let Go, so I figured, why not show how he got her into it. I’m setting this during the brief time she wasn’t calling them “Mom” and “Dad” after she was first placed in their care, just as a way to show how they bonded. I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about the sport. I watch it with my younger brother and half the time am just like “What is going on?” This is more for the bonding! To add, this was before Emma was very “sassy”, so it’s timider Emma.

Mary knew what fall meant for her husband: football season. She knew on those days he would be parked in front of the television all day or night, depending on what it fell on, watching the pre-show and all that jazz. She thought it was cute that he had his own little thing to obsess over, he worked hard and felt he deserved it. Plus, there were worst things he could be obsessed with. She’d just make him some snacks, though she didn’t join in. It just wasn’t her thing. Typically, she’d busy herself with something else and David had long since given up offering to watch it with her. They were married, they could have separate interests. (If he was being quite honest, he didn’t see why she loved archery so much.)

 

Emma hadn’t been with her new foster parents very long. She knew that they wanted to keep her, though she wasn’t positive how much that was really going to stick. Still afraid that something would happen, that she would somehow screw something up. She really, really liked it where she was. They were the best foster home she had been in. So, she felt like she was walking on eggshells half the time.

 

She couldn’t help but notice one day that David was setting up snacks Mary had prepared in the living room. Something was on the T.V, she peeked her head in and noticed it was the pre-show for the NFL game. Some of her other foster fathers had watched the sport. If the kids were allowed to watch, they had to sit on the floor and be completely quiet. If they even made a noise (such as just coughing), they were screamed at. David was a lot nicer than any of them, but figured she’d be the same.

 

David noticed Emma standing in the doorway and smiled. He was still getting used to having her around, not that it was in a bad way. He was just used to no one showing any interest in watching it with him. He knew the teen could be pretty shy and probably wasn’t going to ask. Plus, he figured it’d be a good way to get them to bond. She seemed to do a lot of stuff with Mary, it was just easier that way. This was something they could do.

 

“Hey Em.”

She jumped at being notice. “Oh uh, hey. I should go uh…”

“Why don’t you sit down and watch the game with me?”

Emma eyed him suspiciously. “You want me to watch it with you?”

“Yeah. Mary’s not a big fan of it, it’d be nice to have someone watch it with me.”

 

David lowered himself onto the couch and patted the spot beside him. That really got Emma shocked. He wanted her to sit next to him? She thought about passing it up, but she didn’t want to. Slowly, she made her way over to him and sat down. He smiled and held out a bowl of pretzels. She gratefully accepted one. He got up and left the room, making her nervous. Had she taken too many? Her foster father returned a minute later holding a can of root beer.

 

“You’re a bit too young for a beer, but here.” David handed it over and sat back down. She gave him a small smile and he felt like punching his fist in the air. He had gotten her to smile! That was a rarity.

“Thanks. I don’t know much about football.”

“That’s okay, I’ll explain as we go.”

“You mean you don’t want it to be quiet?”

David gave her a weird look. “No, it’s a football game. You’re meant to be loud. I think sometimes Mary puts on noise cancelling headphones to drown me out.” That earned him a giggle. Maybe he would be good at this whole dad thing after all.

 

The game soon began and David explained it all as they went. It seemed pretty basic to Emma. She slowly felt herself relaxing. It was quite nice, actually. She hadn’t spent much alone time with David since she got there. Typically, she tried to keep some distance between her and her foster fathers. He was different though, she could tell this. They ate snacks and watched the game, herself rooting for the team he was (despite never showing much interest in them before). When a bad play was made, they both groaned.

 

“Oh, come on, that was so not fair!” Emma complained.

“The ref is obviously biased. I think he’s from the other team’s hometown,” David replied, in the same grumpy mood.

“Probably.” Emma took a sip of her root beer and realized, despite the crappy call, she was having a lot of fun.

 

David saw the look on her face and smiled. He decided to take innovative. With her past, he tried to be careful with affection, not knowing what could trigger her. But, she was sitting awfully close to him, so he wrapped an arm around her. Emma didn’t tense up like she normally would, something about it felt safe. Like she knew exactly why he was doing it. Maybe Mary really had been telling the truth. Maybe they did want her there. She couldn’t describe it, but David made her feel safe, protected. At the time, she thought it was maybe because he was the sheriff and it was her distrust of police officers breaking, but she would later realize it was because a part of her knew…he was meant to be her dad.

 

Emma stayed awake for the entire game, which shocked even her. Typically, she would’ve fallen asleep by the end. Her foster mothers used to have to wake her up off the floor and send her up, aching back and all from the hard floors. This time had been different, probably because she actually had fun watching it. Mary walked into the room, she had decided to give the two some privacy to bond, they really hadn’t gotten much of an opportunity to without her being there. Emma looked happier than she had since she first arrived. She was actually smiling!

 

“That was a good game,” David said to Emma, neither noticing his wife’s presence.

“Yeah, your team won.”

“Our team.”

Emma smiled a little wider. “Our team.”

“Next time, I still have so much more to teach you.”

Next time. She supposed she could agree to that. “Next time.”

“It’s pretty late, you should head to bed.”

“Okay. Night David.” She leaned over, kissing his cheek before getting up and seeing her foster mother standing there. “Mary, how long have you been standing there?”

“Not long. Enjoy the game, sweets?”

“Yeah. Goodnight.” She gave her a quick hug before going upstairs.

 

Mary settled down next to her husband, smiling at him like crazy. He matched her smile.

  
“You did good tonight,” she told him.

“It was just football.”

“I think it meant more to her than you realize.”

“It was nice to have someone to watch it with, someone who gets as crazy as I do.”

Mary laughed. “You’re turning our daughter into a football monster.”

“A very cute football monster.”

 

It would take a few games before Emma admitted why she had been so caught off guard by his request. David had the urge to go strangle every single one who had done that to her. But, instead, he just wrapped an arm around her and they watched the game together, being as loud as they wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you had something from this series you wanted to see expanded upon, but it wasn’t, just let me know and I’ll try to write it!


	37. Outtake#3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I originally planned on including this inside I Won’t Let Go, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like it’d just make a better outtake for this story because it fits better here. I’m putting Emma through enough in the other, haha. This takes place sometime during the time jump, so Emma was 14. The other two outtakes have been Daddy Charming, this one is Mama Snow. It’s also considerably less fluffy…

If Emma hadn’t missed curfew, she never would’ve found it. If she hadn’t insisted to grab ice cream with Ruby after the movie, even though she knew it would make her late, she wouldn’t have come home to her parents waiting with their arms folded, stern looks across their faces. Mary wouldn’t have told her that since she clearly needed to learn time management, then she could help her organize her and David’s walk-in closet. The conversation could’ve been avoided, more emotional turmoil avoided.

 

 “How do you have so many shoes?” Emma complained as she shoved yet another pair into a box.

Mary laughed. “Haven’t you ever heard that shoes are a girl’s best friend?”

“Still. I don’t even understand how you walk in some of these things.”

“One day, you’ll learn.”

“I’ve had enough problems with my ankle to last me a lifetime, I think not.”

“Alright smarty pants, we’re almost done. How about I get us some hot chocolate?”

“Sounds good.” She realized that they were running out of wall space to stack the boxes. “Where do you want me to put these?”

“Just slide them on the lower shelf,” Mary said before walking out.

 

Emma did as told and then saw another shoebox that they hadn’t covered. She didn’t think her mom had any other shoes that they had to put away, but she wasn’t sure, so she pulled it out, lifting the lid. There wasn’t a pair of heels in there, instead a little black leather journal. She recognized it, it was similar to the one that Archie gave her to write in. Had her mom taken it and hidden it from her? She picked it up and flipped through it. No, not her handwriting, her mother’s. Just from glimpsing, Emma could tell her mother was writing with this when she and David were trying to get pregnant. She was going to put it back when the word foster care caught her eye. Had her mother written in there about her? She paused to read it, noticing the date was about a couple of months before she had been placed with them.

 

_Tomorrow David and I start our foster care classes. I’m nervous, really nervous. I’m not scared of being able to love a child that isn’t my blood, more so that I won’t be what they need. Kids get put into the system for a variety of reasons. I just want to be a good mother. We talked about the age range we were hoping for. David’s thinking the oldest the kid would be is 8 or 9, but he wouldn’t mind taking in an older child. I don’t know about taking in a teenager. The oldest I was thinking was 5 or 6. Could I really parent a teenager? I don’t know. I just want this journey to end, I don’t want to keep waiting. I just want to be a mom._

Emma stared at the page with wide eyes. Ever since she found out that her parents had started the foster process because they couldn’t have kids, she wondered if she was just a second choice. She had shaken the thought away, they never acted like it. Blood wasn’t made by family, she knew that. Her mother didn’t need a child of her own blood to define being a mother.

 

But she hadn’t wanted a teenager. She hadn’t wanted Emma, at least that’s how it seemed to the blonde. Mary had wanted a little kid, just like every other foster parent she had come across. All that crap about Emma still being her little girl, about it not mattering…it all seemed like a lie. She really was her mother’s second choice.

 

The tears spiked to her eyes. She couldn’t be there. Not anymore. She couldn’t accept not being what her mom really wanted.

 

“Alright,” Mary’s voice came from behind her. “I think we just need to throw some stuff in the wash and we’ll be…” She trailed off as Emma turned around, shaking. Mary was about to ask what was wrong, when she saw the journal in her daughter’s hand and the pained look on her face. Mary’s own paled and she set the mugs onto her dresser. “Emma…how did you…”

“I thought it was another shoebox we missed. Then I found this, it looks just like the journal Archie gave me for my dreams.”

“Emma, wait…”

“I can’t. I can’t be here right now.” She pushed the journal into her mother’s hands and stormed out the door. Mary tried to follow her, but Emma was just too fast. Mary didn’t even have to look down to see what Emma had read. She had never wanted her daughter to see it. Mostly because it was the most shameful thing she had ever wrote.

 

At the time, it had been the truth. She didn’t think she could parent a teenager, she didn’t think they would need much guidance. She also had (wrongfully) thought that the teens in the system probably weren’t adoptable. She learned how wrong she was during the classes. Still, she had been hesitant. Until David brought the file to the diner, the one with the picture of her little girl. That very night when she went home, she threw it in the empty shoebox and put it on the shelf, determined that Emma would never see it. It had been over a year since she had written it and she had forgotten all about it. Had she remembered, she would have moved it again before Emma helped her. She knew she should’ve just burned it or gotten rid of the passage. Archie had given her the journal to help her cope with that part of her life and now it was hurting her daughter. She couldn’t let Emma think she was unwanted.

 

She ripped out the page and shoved it into her purse before starting the search for her daughter. She didn’t know where she would go, there were so many places. After calling Mal, Belle and Granny, ruling out all her possible friends, she went to the other place Emma went to when she was upset: the beach.

 

Sure enough, Mary found her daughter, sitting on the sand, knees drawn to her chest. As she got closer, she could tell her daughter was crying. It was a dagger to the mother’s heart. She had caused those tears. She sat down next to her and tried to hug her, but got pushed away. She should’ve expected that. Mary wouldn’t have wanted to hug herself in the situation.

 

“Emma…”

“Just go away,” Emma whispered, her voice croaking. That’s how Mary knew just how upset her daughter was. When Emma was pissed, she yelled. But when she was sad, devastated, she got so quiet. Just like she had been when they first met.

“Baby, you have to let me explain. I wrote this before I even knew you existed.”

“You didn’t want me,” Emma said, looking over at her. It took all Mary had not to sweep her into her arms and not let go, but she knew that’s not what her daughter wanted. “You didn’t want a teenager, they were too much work. You only took me because I was the first kid that Helen threw at you.”

“Oh Emma, that’s not true. Sweets, when I wrote this, I didn’t know a lot about the system or how it worked. It’s why they make people take those classes. I learned how wrong I was to ever think that I couldn’t handle it.”

“But I still wasn’t…wasn’t what you wanted!” Emma was starting to hyperventilate. “You...you only fostered because you couldn’t have a baby of your own! If…if you could, if Helen had placed a little kid with you, then you wouldn’t have gotten me and then you would’ve had what you wanted! I was just…just your second choice!”

“Emma!” Mary put her hands on her daughter’s face. “You were not a second choice, you are what I wanted! I know what you read tonight makes it seem otherwise, but that is the truth. I never once thought that you were a second choice and we didn’t choose you because Helen didn’t give us another option. I wanted you Emma, from the minute your father showed me your picture, I knew you were meant to be my daughter. All those things I thought, they didn’t matter anymore. Yes, I pictured a little girl, my brain just didn’t understand what my heart was trying to tell me there. I got my little girl and I wouldn’t trade you for the world!”

 

Emma sniffled and Mary wiped her tears.

 

“How can I be enough? You wanted a baby and you got stuck with me.”

“Oh baby, I didn’t get stuck with you. Yes, I wanted a baby. Yes, I tried for a very long time to get pregnant.” Mary was trying to find the right words, the ones to let Emma know how loved she was. “Okay, look at it this way. Whenever your father and I tell you that we feel bad because we weren’t there when you were little, what do you tell us?”

“That fate didn’t want me to have parents until I was 13.”

“Right. And I think that fate wanted me to adopt, fate wanted me to find my beautiful baby girl. I wouldn’t trade you to have a child that shared my blood. You are all I ever wanted, plus a million times more. You’ve taught me so much. I thought I knew what love was, but I don’t think I really did until I became a mom. Of course I love your father, but this was different. My love for you, it’s unconditional and I wouldn’t have loved you anymore if I had carried you in my stomach or if you had came to us when you were younger.”

Emma bit her lip. “Really?”

“Would it have made you love me any more than you do?”

“Of course not.”

“There you go. I am so sorry that you read this, sweets. The night your father and I found out about you, I hid it in my closet because I felt so guilty for ever thinking like that. For ever thinking that I couldn’t parent a teenager that I hadn’t raised. You were never meant to see it. I haven’t even thought about it since then, I promise you that. I would never, ever want to hurt you or make you feel this way and I am so sorry that I did.” Mary was crying herself now, though she was trying to hide it from Emma. “I can’t say they’re just words, because words hurt.” She pulled the page out of her bag along with a lighter she had bought. “And I can’t take back these words, but I can get rid of them.”

“Mom, you don’t have to do this…”

“Yeah, I do. I was wrong for ever thinking these things and I was wrong for not destroying it before it could hurt you.”

 

Mary lit the edge of the paper and watched it slowly begin to singe. When it was getting closer to her hand, she threw it a few feet away. Then she pulled Emma into her arms, hugging her tightly. Emma hugged her back just as tight, burying her head in her shoulder.

 

“You’re my baby, nothing is ever going to change that. I promise. You are wanted, Emma Ruth Nolan. I’m your mother and I love you more than anything.”

“I love you too, Mama,” Emma whispered, clinging tighter to her.

 

They stayed like that for awhile, Mary soothingly rocking her daughter and whispering just how loved she was. She would never again let Emma feel that way, not if she could help it.

 

“Come on baby, let’s go home. Daddy will be there soon, wondering where we are.” She stood up, holding her hand out to Emma, who accepted it, still keeping their palms intertwined once they were walking. Emma rested her head upon her mom’s shoulder, feeling safe and wanted. Her mom’s words had hurt, but she knew she had hurt her mother with her own at other points. Words can’t be taken back once they’re out here, but sometimes other words can make them better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how many more outtakes I’m going to make for this one, but I hope you guys don’t mind them. As always, thanks for all the amazing reviews!


	38. Outtake#4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompted by loboselinaistrash on Tumblr. Hurt/comfort sickfic drabble prompt: Please can you write a drabble on 7. “I can’t take your temperature unless you come out from under there.” General Charming family or set in your The Lost get Found universe :)
> 
> Takes place sometime during the time jump!

Emma ran up the stairs, ignoring the burning sensation in her throat. She could hear the footsteps coming up behind her and her spot on the track team was validated as she reached her bedroom first. She dived under the pink paisley covers on her bed, pulling them up over her. She could hear the door open followed by her father’s voice.

 

“Emma.” She didn’t respond.  “Emma you’re being silly.”

“I am not. You’re overreacting.”

“You’ve been coughing all morning.”

“It’s…allergies.”

 

David chuckled, sitting down on the bed. He could see Emma’s outline beneath the sheets along with her baby blanket poking out a bit.  The thermometer was in his hands, ready to go over her forehead as soon as she got out of her cocoon. Mary was out for the day and it was just the two of them. He had suspected Emma was sick, but she of course denied it. After another wheezing fit, he had pulled it out and being the overdramatic 14-year-old that she was, she ran.

 

“You don’t have allergies, Em.”

“You don’t know that,” Emma protested. It was starting to get hot under there, but she wasn’t going to crack.

“Yes, I do. I’m your father.”

“Yeah…well…”

David smirked at her lack of a comeback. She had to be sick, normally Emma was a lot quicker than that. “Look, I could be wrong. You may not have a fever.”

“I know you’re wrong, so we don’t have to bother.”

“If you think I’m wrong, it’s a simple matter of me taking your temperature.”

 

Emma was quiet. She really was feeling awful, she had for the past couple of days. But there were important things coming up, stuff with her friends that she didn’t want to miss out on. Plus, if she was sick it meant bedrest and that was boring.

 

“I’ll tell you what,” David said. “If you’re right, I’ll make chocolate chip pancakes for dinner.”

Some more silence. “And if you’re right?”

“You have to rest and not go to Lily’s tonight.”

Emma sighed. There was a slight chance she didn’t have a fever and just had a little cough…it was worth the risk. “Alright, fine.” But she didn’t move.

David laughed yet again. “I can’t take your temperature unless you come out from under there.” A few seconds later, the blankets were being pushed off and Emma laid there. David smiled. “There you are.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s just get this over with.”

David took the cap off the top and ran the thermometer over her forehead. Emma attempted to hold her breath while she waited for it to beep, but a coughing fit came out. Her father looked down at it and frowned. “100.1”

Emma groaned. “Damn it.”

“I’ll let that one slide because you’re sick. Sorry Princess, but you’re home tonight and tomorrow.”

“Why tomorrow?”

“You’re not supposed to do anything within 24 hours of having a fever.” He stood up, tucking the thermometer back in his pocket. “Stay here, I’ll be back.”

 

He didn’t miss the pout that fell across her face as he walked out of the room. Downstairs, he texted his wife, updating her on the situation. He set to work on making her dinner and making an appointment with Whale the next morning.

 

Emma waited grumpily for her father to come back up. In the meantime, she had gotten out her laptop and pulled up Superstore on Hulu. If she was forced to be on house arrest, she was going to be entertained. About halfway through the second episode, David walked back in holding a tray containing a cup of tea, a bottle of cough syrup…and chocolate chip pancakes.

 

“I thought you said I only got those if I was right?” She countered as he settled it down in front of her, moving he laptop out of the way.

“I never said you didn’t get them if you were sick.” He winked and a smile went across her face. “Just take your medicine and drink your tea.” Emma wanted to roll her eyes, but resisted, taking the gross medicine and sipping her tea. Her eyes fell back to the episode of the sitcom on her laptop.

“Wanna watch it with me?”

David grinned. “I’d love to.” He leaned against her pillows and pressed play for her, watching Amy, Jonah and the rest of the employees deal with the crazy antics of Cloud 9.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I do take prompts for any of my verses or even to start off new ones along with answering questions about my writing on my fanfiction Tumblr: justanoutlawfanfiction.


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